Charles Leclerc says he doesn't agree with new FIA technical directive

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc says that he does not agree with the FIA intervening on porpoising and bouncing after they issued a technical directive earlier this week.

The new regulations for 2022 have caused the cars to porpoise thanks to ground effect and bounce due to the stiffer set-ups needed to get optimum performance, and some of the drivers have been given a bit of a beating during races because of that.

Indeed, in Azerbaijan a number of the drivers seemed to be suffering with back problems and, as a consequence of that, the FIA has said that it will now be placing limits on ‘vertical oscillations’ which the teams must not exceed, essentially telling them that they must set their cars up to ensure they are not going to bounce and porpoise as much, even if it costs them lap time.

Ferrari have suffered a bit with the issue, though not to the extent of the likes of Mercedes, and Leclerc does not feel it’s right for the FIA to intervene, saying rather that team and driver should work together to find the right balance:

“I don’t completely agree on my side.

“I think it’s the team’s responsibility to give me a car that is OK to drive, and until now, I didn’t have any particular problem with it.

“Yes it is stiffer than last year’s car, whether it’s undriveable or hard on myself, I personally don’t think it is.

“On our side, we found solutions to make it better.”

It’s interesting to get different viewpoints, and it’s certainly no surprise to hear those suffering more than Ferrari are suggesting that the technical directive doesn’t actually go far enough.

Ultimately, safety must take priority and that is at the heart of this latest intervention from the FIA.