Lewis Hamilton thinks that FIA interfering mid-season to solve the porpoising issue is not wrong; says safety is the most important thing.
While Lewis Hamilton finished the Azerbaijan GP with a P5, he said that it was the most painful race ever. Mercedes’ W13 is suffering drastically from the porpoising effect and it is taking a toll on the health of the drivers.
Hamilton revealed that he had been praying for the race to end at the Baku circuit due to the severe pain in his back. He was spotted struggling to get out of the car after the race. However, he was not the only driver to complain about it.
After loud concerns around the paddock regarding the issue, FIA stepped in and issued a new technical directive to limit the porpoising.
#CanadianGP 🇨🇦: Lewis Hamilton disagrees that “rule changes in the middle of the year aren’t correct” and is happy that safety is being put first by the FIA.
— deni (@fiagirly) June 17, 2022
But, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is not happy with the FIA interfering mid-season. “These rule changes in the middle of the year I don’t think it’s correct,” he said.
However, Hamilton opposes the views of the Dutchman. He said, “Safety is the most important thing. I think in every team someone has complained about porpoising. We have to solve the problem for ourselves and the future drivers.”
Also Read: Max Verstappen attacks Mercedes after FIA directive change to solve porpoising issues
“W13 can’t go any higher” – Lewis Hamilton
The new directives issued by the FIA implement a “quantitative limit for an acceptable level of vertical oscillations.” Any team that will exceed this, most likely Mercedes, will have to raise their ride height to protect the drivers.
This will cost the Mercedes the downforce and pace. However, Hamilton is not sure if much can be done with the W13.
“It wasn’t until Barcelona that we started to be able to get it a little bit lower and we had no bouncing for the first time in Barcelona, except for the high-speed corners,” said the Briton.
“Even when we raised the car [in Monaco and Baku because of the bumps on those street circuits] this thing still bounces.
“And we can’t go any higher, actually. We are limited by the rear suspension now.”
Also Read: F1 Twitter reacts as FIA’s technical directive is poised to make things worse for Mercedes
