Wolff says FIA had to protect teams from themselves with TD

Torquing Point: F1 finally returns to Montreal

Passionate Canadian fans ready for F1 return

Torquing Point: Are Ferrari harming their Charles Leclerc relationship?

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff supports the FIA’s decision to step in with a technical directive relating to the impact of porpoising.

After many drivers suffered a bumpy ride in Baku, concerns were raised about the long-term health impacts of this bouncing phenomenon associated with the 2022 ground-effect cars.

The grid was not quite united on the wish for the FIA to step in, Red Bull in particular lobbying that it was up to the teams to manage the performance-related problem, but a technical directive released prior to the Canadian Grand Prix represented FIA action on the issue.

While the directive sets out new areas of scrutineering from the FIA, reports suggest that the Canadian Grand Prix will be used for data gathering, rather than enforcement.

Nonetheless, Wolff welcomed the step, explaining that it can not be left to the teams to address this issue.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton seemed to be the driver worst affected in Baku, the porpoising causing him back pain.

Speaking to reporters on Friday in Montreal, Wolff said: “I think that sometimes in F1, we need to be protected from ourselves. Everybody’s chasing performance.

“And, like many teams didn’t like the cost cap, and tried to fight against it, or fight regulations that they deemed to be counter productive for their own purposes, now we have a situation that the way the cars have been designed, they are ground effect cars.

“And as ground effect cars did in the 80s and the 90s, these cars are porpoising. And to a higher or to a lesser degree with some of the teams. But as a matter of fact, there is a health