Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff has slammed the ‘political games’ being played by rival team bosses over the porpoising issue at the Canadian Grand Prix. He believes that the issue is way too serious and it has gone too far, as this grave concern is impacting the health of drivers.
Mercedes F1 boss slams rival team bosses over porpoising issue
When asked by motorsport.com about the porpoising issue that teams are facing, Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff said, “This is a sport where you’re trying to keep a competitive advantage or gain it. But this situation has clearly gone too far. All drivers, at least one in every team, have said that they were in pain after Baku, that they had difficulty in keeping the car on track or blurred vision.”
He went on to add that team bosses are playing political games by adding, “Team principals trying to manipulate what is being said in order to keep the competitive advantage and trying to play political games when the FIA tries to come up with a quick solution, to at least put the cars in a better position, is disingenuous. And that’s what I said.”
Seven-time Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton has been extremely vocal about the severe back pain he suffered at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last weekend due to the porpoising issues on the long straights of Baku. The Brit is not the only driver to have raised such concerns, as several others have pointed out the safety concerns that exist because of the bouncing issues.
With other teams also raising similar concerns, Wolff added, “I’m not only talking about the Mercedes: all of the cars suffered in some way or other in Baku, and still do it here. The cars are too stiff. The cars bounce or whatever you want to call it. We have long-term effects that we can’t even judge. But at any time this is a safety risk, and then coming up with little manipulations in the background, or Chinese whispers, or briefing the drivers, is just pitiful.”
While F1, the FIA and the teams have had discussions about the porpoising issue, they have not yet been able to come up with an amicable solution.
