"We need to be protected from ourselves" - Mercedes boss says FIA technical directive saves F1 teams from themselves

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has claimed that the proposed FIA technical directive to curb the effects of porpoising will save F1 teams “from themselves”.

Wolff believes that teams will knowingly push the limits of their cars in pursuit of performance, even if it compromises drivers’ safety, and hence cannot be relied upon to fix the problem. Speaking to planetf1 ahead of the 2022 F1 Canadian GP, he said:

“If all of us could have solved it, we would rather solve it than have the situation. I think we all have a responsibility for our drivers. This is not an area where teams should push against the change just because they believe they have an advantage to it. It’s a ground-effect problem. Everybody is chasing performance. And I think sometimes in F1, we need to be protected from ourselves.”

Ironically, porpoising seems to be affecting Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton the most. At the Azerbaijan GP last weekend, the seven-time world champion reportedly experienced upwards of 6Gs of vertical compression on the straights, due to his car’s violent bouncing.

Since the start of the season, the team has tried and failed to address the issue. Given their design choices, they also seem unable to find a working solution that wouldn’t compromise performance.

Mercedes’ calls for a change in regulations to deal with the problem, however, haven’t received widespread support across the field. Red Bull in particular has fiercely opposed any such action, claiming that it would negatively affect those that have done a good job.

Toto Wolff, however, believes the proposed technical directive is ultimately good for the sport, even if it serves to undermine specific teams’ self-interests. He added, saying:

“Many teams didn’t like the cost cap, and tried to fight against it, or fight regulations they deemed to be counter-productive for their own purposes, now we have a situation that the way the cars have been designed they are ground-effect cars. That shows all teams have to be protected from themselves by regulatory change.”

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F1 drivers’ health already affected by porpoising, claims Mercedes boss

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has claimed that drivers are already feeling the impact of porpoising on their health and that the sport cannot ignore the issue any longer. The Austrian believes that almost every single driver on the grid has “felt the pain” from the violent bouncing. He said:

“We can already see drivers that have been pretty vocal about the pain and the blurred vision suddenly are less talkative about it. And that’s why we cannot just leave it to the teams to say ‘well, up to you to judge’.”

Given that drivers from teams that are relatively unaffected from porpoising — such as Red Bull’s Sergio Perez — are also calling for a solution to the issue, Wolff believes the FIA needs to act immediately to protect the drivers from potential injuries.