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Kravitz: 'This is not what Mercedes wanted to hear from the FIA'

17 June 2022 at 08:05
Last update 17 June 2022 at 08:53
  • GPblog.com

Mercedes cut itself in the fingers by shouting so loudly after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that the FIA should come up with changes to the regulations to reduce porpoising. This is what Ted Kravitz tells Sky Sports. The pit reporter concludes that the issued 'technical directive' hits the German racing team harder than any other team.

"So what Mercedes were wanting to hear from the FIA, was some kind of rule on maybe everybody raising their cars up so that the drivers wouldn't get a bad back. Instead, what they got from the FIA, is almost a taskforce, a technical directive addressing the people whose cars are bouncing, namely Mercedes," Kravitz begins his analysis in Canada.

Toto Wolff's formation won't say it out loud, but they seem to have pushed themselves even further into the corner. According to the British journalist, it has been surprising intervention by the FIA and certainly not one that Mercedes was after. The international motorsport federation will check whether the cars do not bounce too often and too hard in the future. If this does happen, the ride height of the car in question will have to be raised further. "So this is working against Mercedes and this could have a very negative effect on Lewis Hamilton's season."

Will Red Bull benefit?

It is possible that Ferrari will also be affected by the new rules in Formula 1. The Italian team is also relatively affected by the bounce, although they know how to drive around this well. However, if the FIA judges that the F1-75 of Charles Leclerc or Carlos Sainz bounces too often, they will have to make adjustments that are detrimental to the pace at which the car can be driven.

Kravitz: "At the front of the field, this is really going to hand an advantage, I think, to Red Bull because they never had any issues with porpoising, whereas Ferrari have done," Presumably the new rules will only be enforced from the next Grand Prix in Britain.