Ian Parkes & Lars Leeftink
Thursday, June 30, 2022 19:38 – Last update: 19:42
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The FIA has set a deadline for all F1 teams to comply with a new technical directive relating to porpoising. The FIA will start checking from the Grand Prix of France.
Motorsport’s governing body introduced a ‘technical directive’ ahead of the race weekend in Canada, but it proved controversial. The teams did not have time to react, with the exception of Mercedes† The reigning Constructors’ champion introduced a modification to their W13s ahead of Friday practice, which was later removed for qualifying and the Montreal race. The remaining nine teams argued that it could not be introduced as regulations unless it was first debated and then approved by the World Motor Sport Council.
FIA test in Canada
The FIA has nevertheless checked the level of bounce over the weekend at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. As a result, the FIA now claims to have established a metric and formula. The 10 teams now have the upcoming double-header in Silverstone and Austria to provide feedback on the metrics before the signed technical directive is passed into law for the next race in France.
FIA Statement
An FIA statement, which came to Silverstone ahead of the weekend, said: “In connection with safety concerns previously raised by the FIA regarding the vertical vibration [porpoising] of the new generation of Formula 1 cars, the FIA is now taking the following steps to remedy this problem. We have sent a draft update of the technical guidance issued to the teams ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.”
GP France
The FIA says the analysis has been completed and the technical guideline from the French Grand Prix will become law in three weeks. Until then, teams can prepare for it. “The FIA analysis of vertical oscillation data has been completed and we have defined a metric to monitor this. The update has been sent to the teams so that they can conduct their own analysis over the next two race weekends to understand what any changes they need to make to meet the requirements when the technical guideline comes into force, which will be during the French Grand Prix.In addition, the technical guideline also contains some updated parameters regarding plank wear and skid resistance, which are inherently related to the same problem and go hand in hand go with the metric. These changes are necessary to create a level playing field between the teams when the metric is implemented.”
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