By Steve Keating
MONTREAL (Reuters) – Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen spoke out against mid-season rule changes on Friday while Lewis Hamilton said driver health came first in discussion of the sport’s ‘porpoising’ problem.
Sitting side-by-side in front of the media ahead of Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix, the pair went head-to-head in discussing a move by the governing FIA to address the issue of cars bouncing dramatically at high speeds.
Concern reached new levels last weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix when a bruised seven-times world champion Hamilton struggled to get out of his Mercedes after finishing fourth.
Verstappen said porpoising was something teams should be left to address rather than the FIA stepping in.
“Regardless if it is going to help us or work against us, I think rule changes in the middle of the year I don’t think is correct,” said Verstappen, who enters Sunday’s race 21 points clear of team mate Sergio Perez.
“For sure the porpoising we have at the moment is not nice. But some teams are able to handle these things a lot better than others so it is possible to get rid of it.
“I don’t think we have to over dramatise what is happening.”
However, Hamilton said he would not have been able to pass the sport’s extraction test.
“I cannot stress more how important health is for us,” the Briton said. “Safety has to be paramount.
“My discs (in the back) are definitely not in the best of shape right now and that’s not good for longevity and there are things we can do.
“It’s not about coping with the bouncing for the next four years it’s about completely getting rid of it and fixing it so that all of us don’t have back problems.”
As some of motor racing’s best minds work overtime to solve the problem caused by new aerodynamic regulations, Verstappen maintained it was something easily fixed if teams are willing.
The solution? Just raise the car up, said the 24-year-old Dutchman, fully aware that would also bring a marked drop in performance.
“Naturally ourselves and team have to find the limit of (what) you can cope with your body yourself for performance,” said Verstappen.
“I don’t think it’s correct now to have to intervene and start to apply these kind of rules … it is very simple; go up and you won’t have these issues.”
(Reporting by Steve Keating; Editing by Ken Ferris)
