Red Bull team principal Christian Horner had a cheeky dig ready in response to questions about the FIA’s technical directives for 2023, admitting size does not matter.
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 endured a back-breaking afternoon in Baku.
The FIA was swift to announce a technical directive that was passed duely at a World Motorsport Council meeting ahead of the 2022 F1 Belgian GP, coming into effect at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
The FIA is now measuring levels of porpoising experienced by all teams and expects them to operate below a certain threshold for their cars to be considered safe. They have also announced measures for the 2023 and 2024 seasons going forward.
A lot has been discussed about the new flexi-floors directive that comes into effect this weekend.
The new technical directive by the FIA seeks to minimize the porpoising that a lot o drivers complained about earlier in the season. Let’s take a look at what it actually does.
A lot has been discussed about the new flexi-floors directive that comes into effect this weekend.The new technical directive by the FIA seeks to minimize the porpoising that a lot o drivers complained about earlier in the season. Let’s take a look at what it actually does.
The FIA has implemented changes to redefine 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 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 main bone of contention was the FIA’s plans to raise the floor edges by 25 mm. After facing stiff opposition from Red Bull and a host of other teams, the FIA ultimately agreed to settle at 15 mm.
When asked if this 10 mm difference in the height of the floor edges throws a spanner in the works for Red Bull ahead of the 2022 F1 Belgian GP, Christian Horner was tooled with a witty retort. The British said:
“My wife often tells me that size doesn’t matter so I’m not going to get too fussed about 10mm. 25 versus 15 is – we’ve got to live with it and it is what it is. It’s inconvenient to be announcing it at this time of year, it’s incredibly late but it’s the same for everybody. We ended up negotiating on a number, and we ended up at a number that… it’s the same for everybody.”
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner calls FIA technical directive ‘a compromise’
Earlier, when the aforementioned technical directive to combat porpoising was confirmed by the FIA before the 2022 F1 Belgian GP, Christian Horner called it a compromise that no team wanted on the F1 grid.
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 mate 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.”
Red Bull did not seem too affected by the directive and instead looked more formidable after the summer break. Max Verstappen charged through the field from P14 like a Cretan Bull to win in Belgium.
It remains to be seen if this was due to a track-specific advantage for the Red Bull RB18 or if it was down to the team finding a way to not let the directive affect them adversely.
Either way, if things continue in this manner, the title race can be assured for Red Bull with races to spare.
Coming soon!
