"Sometimes people say different things" - Lewis Hamilton takes a dig at Max Verstappen and Red Bull over FIA's technical directive on bouncing in F1

Lewis Hamilton took a jab at Max Verstappen for being against a mid-season rule change following an intervention by the FIA for porpoising. The seven-time world champion felt there were drivers who had different opinions behind the scenes in comparison to what they said publicly.

Speaking about the FIA's technical directive towards resolving porpoising, Lewis Hamilton said:

“I was always interesting seeing people’s perspectives and opinions in different lights. Obviously in front of you it’s one thing and another in the background, sometimes people say different things. But ultimately, I think safety is the most important thing. And I don’t think- I think there’s at least one driver in every team has spoken on it and I don’t think it’s going to change a huge amount but I think there is a lot of work to be done and it’s positive that the FIA are working towards improving it, because we have this car for the next few years.”

He continued:

“So it’s not about coping with the bouncing for the next four years, it’s about completely getting rid of it and fixing it so that the future drivers, all of us, don’t have back problems moving forwards.”

While his teammate George Russell accused Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen, and Sergio Perez of prioritizing performance over driver safety, the Briton took a similar swipe at drivers for changing their opinions in front of the public. The Mercedes champion believes it is critical that the FIA steps in to resolve the issue in order to avoid long-term negative health impacts.

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Lewis Hamilton believes it takes almost a week for the body to heal from the bruising caused by the bouncing

Lewis Hamilton believes the bruising on the body caused by the bouncing takes approximately a week to recover from. The Mercedes driver empathized with other drivers who had more injuries due to the bouncing, but also explained that the bruising is not directly propotional to a driver's age.

Upon being asked about the severity of the bruising and the time taken to recover from it, Lewis Hamilton responded:

“Well, yeah, because there’s a lot more bruising in the body after the races nowadays. So it’s just taking you most of the week, generally to recover, and you have to do a lot more to do it. And I don’t think that generally has anything to do with age, I think that’s just, generally, because the bruising can be quite severe.”

He added:

“It’s interesting to hear from other drivers, I have empathy for the other drivers that have experienced it in a bad way. When you’re experiencing 10 Gs on a bump, up to 10 Gs, which I experienced in the last race. That’s a heavy, heavy load on the lower part and the top part your neck as well.”

Mercedes has been accused of making porpoising a bigger issue than it is in an attempt to push for a mid-season rule change. While the FIA has intervened to investigate the matter, it might not have gone the team’s way.

Catch Lewis Hamilton next at the Canadian GP on June 19, 2022.