Ferrari Threatens Mercedes By Protesting The Porpoising Compromise For The 2023 F1 Championship!

The newly designed F1 cars for the 2022 season have suffered the porpoising effects. Mercedes clearly struggled with the ground-effect aerodynamics and was left stranded between the midfield and the front for a long time this season. The Silver Arrows advocated that porpoising is a safety concern, and the FIA needed to do something about it for the next season. As a result, the FIA proposed raising the floor height to 25mm next season after complaints from Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. But it looks like Ferrari & Red Bull have some other plans regarding the same issue.

Not all the teams are favoring the major regulation change for the next season at this point. Thus, the sport\’s governing body called for a technical advisory committee meeting to vote on the matter. The teams and the FIA came up with a compromise that the floor height would be increased by 15mm. However, Ferrari has now threatened to protest the FIA\’s regulation compromise brought in to counter porpoising in 2023 F1 cars.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto hopes that there will not be any changes in the regulations for the next season. The Italian engineer could not see a reason to make any changes to the technical regulations for safety concerns, especially after how the recent races have transpired. 

Mattia further claimed that the regulation change for the 2023 season would be a major problem considering the time of the year. There would be very little time to change the 2023 car\’s concept. Hence, the Ferrari boss felt there was no reason to introduce any changes citing safety concerns. He added, \”So, I think it can\’t happen. And if it does, we\’ll try to figure out how to stop them.\” 

Ferrari & Red Bull Protest Any Regulation Change For 2023

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff cited the FIA\’s medical work to advocate for a regulation change. The former Austrian driver claimed that the drivers were exposed to a frequency of 6-7Hz for several hours, which could result in severe brain damage. Wolff urged the FIA to do something about it unanimously due to safety concerns.

Meanwhile, Ferrari and Red Bull might be against each other in the championship battle. However, the two teams share a common sense when it comes to regulations and the sport\’s future. The Italian engineer was not sure if the regulations change would affect Ferrari or Red Bull. He claimed to not care about it.

Mattia shared that he does not think too much over every single issue as it would result in lobbying. He did not think lobbying is a good attitude for the sport in the medium and long term. Binotto felt that it is Scuderia\’s responsibility to look into the medium and long-term future of Formula 1. The 52-year-old concluded, \”I believe it is very important to always have a responsible and balanced approach when evaluating and making crucial decisions for the future of this sport.\”