Ferrari and Red Bull have been using a planche in the bottom of their car that helps them have a faster car on the grid.
Questions regarding floors and the height of the cars have been under question since the regulation changes this season. Some teams like Mercedes, seemingly ran the car too low which apparently increased porpoising.
However, teams like Ferrari and Red Bull have not really seen that affect their performance. the two teams have dominated the F1 season up until now, but it may prove to change in the coming few weeks. A lot of people within the paddock wondered why the two teams didn’t struggle with car height as much, without it affecting their pace.
Also noticed you mentioned the “Flexi Floor”
Wasn’t the Mercs rear wing meant to be too flexi last year?
But it was never investigated or proven.
Same way red bulls hasn’t been.
Seems within the rules and fair game to me, no?
Curious to see your response.
— Ghost (@paperplanss) July 5, 2022
The answer is that they’ve been using a planche that flexes their rear by around two millimeters. This would improve the operation of their floor bottom.
So you’re telling me Ferrari and Red Bull are running an illegal floor but have until France to fix it. But I’m Brazil last year when Lewis’s wing was slightly too big he was disqualified from qualifying. Don’t ever tell me the FIA favours Mercedes https://t.co/x1uCwdRsvz
— Riszes (@Riszes) July 3, 2022
The FIA have announced that this interpretation won’t be accepted from the French Grand Prix onwards.
Also read: When Niki Lauda won his first Austrian Grand Prix despite $400,000 worth broken gearbox in 1984
Mercedes to enter the battle between Ferrari and Red Bull?
Mercedes did not have a particularly strong start to the year. They are no longer the dominant force of these last eight years. Red Bull and Ferrari on the other hand have been the frontrunners up until now, with the former building a bigger lead in the recent rounds.
Charles Leclerc and Ferrari seemed dominant in the opening few races, but it’s been downhill for them. Bad luck, a few mistakes and questionable strategy calls have seen the Maranello based outfit lose out on plenty of points.
Red Bull and Max Verstappen meanwhile look like they are running away with the Title. The Dutchman leads the F1 Standings with 181 points to his name, and his teammate Sergio Perez is behind him.
A late entry into the Title battle now may be Mercedes. The Brackley based team have shown major signs of improvement, which was visible in last weekend’s British Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton had the pace to win the race, and might have done if there wasn’t a late race safety car involved.
