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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has branded the FIA's mid-season technical directive to tackle porpoising as a 'compromise'.
The 2022 F1 regulatory changes brought with it a return to ground effect in an attempt to improve the quality of racing. This design decision also brought with it porpoising, with cars bottoming out and violently bouncing up and down on their rear suspensions at near top speeds.
This phenomenon became a major safety concern during the 2022 F1 Azerbaijan GP weekend when multiple drivers complained about the potential adverse health implications tied to it. Loudest among them was Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, who was in visible discomfort after the race at the Baku City Circuit.
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The FIA was swift to announce a technical directive that was passed after the latest World Motorsport Council meeting with some changes. They also signed off on the new Power Unit regulations for the 2026 F1 season at the same meeting.
When F1 returns from the summer break to race at Spa-Francorchamps later this month, the FIA will measure the levels of porpoising experienced by all teams and expect them to operate below a certain threshold for their car to be considered safe. They have also announced measures for the 2023 and 2024 seasons going forward.
The FIA plans to implement changes to re-define the stiffness requirements of the bottom plank and skids around the thickness measurement holes in an attempt to clamp down on the flexi-floor loophole Red Bull and Ferrari appear to have exploited thus far.
The diffuser throat height will also be raised while the overall stiffness of the diffuser will also be increased. An additional sensor will also be made mandatory to study the oscillations and vibrations more effectively.
The initial directive also planned to raise the floor edges by as much as 25 mm, which was opposed by as many as six teams with Red Bull leading the protests. Now, the floor edges will need to be raised by 15mm instead.
Speaking in an interview with RacingNews365 after the directive was confirmed, the Red Bull boss said:
“[15mm] is not as good as leaving it alone, [but] it’s not as bad as the 25mm that was originally [suggested]. It’s a compromise that we’re just going to have to incorporate for next year. We’ll just have to deal with it and find a solution. That’s what we’ve been good at over the years, and we’ll just have to do that with this challenge.”
Max Verstappen and Red Bull want to win more races when F1 summer break ends
Despite the changes that are set to be implemented, Max Verstappen and Red Bull do not intend to take their foot off the pedal, admitting they want to try and win more races after the summer break.
Christian Horner's side have done well to overcome their initial reliability woes and has made giant strides in both their championship battles this season.
Red Bull have won nine out of the opening 13 races in 2022 with Max Verstappen getting eight of those wins. The reigning world champion has also been on the podium in every race he has completed, barring this year's race at Silverstone.
The Dutchman has also been able to capitalize on Ferrari's mistakes and misfortunes to build up an 80-point lead over Charles Leclerc in the World Drivers' Championship standings. At the same time, Red Bull are 97 points ahead of Scuderia Ferrari in the race for the Constructors' Championship.
Despite his advantage, Verstappen and Red Bull want to keep going for more. In an interview after his win at the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP, the 24-year-old said:
“I think as a team we still want to win more races and that’s what we’ll definitely try to do and after the break. It is a great lead that we have, but we cannot have too many days [like Saturday]. We also had a few little issues with the clutch in the upshifts [in the race], which was not great to drive [with]. Overall, of course it is good, but we [will] just keep on working and keep on trying to improve things.”
Verstappen will want to pick up where he left off when the summer break ends and the 2022 F1 Belgian GP comes around. The reigning world champion has the chance to break the record for most wins in a single F1 season. The current record of 13 wins is jointly held by German world champions Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.
