FIA believes it was right to change floor regulations
The FIA believes there is “no doubt” it did the right thing by changing the floor rules for 2023 to combat porpoising. Following the overhaul of the technical regulations for this year and the return of ground effect, a number of teams encountered severe porpoising through pre-season testing.
Although many teams made changes to their cars to combat the issue, the recurring problems prompted the FIA to intervene on safety grounds mid-season, introducing a new metric to measure how much the cars were bouncing. This proved to be controversial as it looked to give the governing body a direct say in how the teams set up their cars, before a compromise was struck.
Mercedes was one of the worst affected teams by the porpoising but its rivals argued that the issue had disappeared towards the end of the season, suggesting the rules changes for next year were not needed. But in Abu Dhabi, cars were seen porpoising once again, suggesting the problem had not been remedied through the season.
Asked by Motorsport.com if the porpoising in Abu Dhabi justified the rule changes, the FIA’s head of single-seaters, Nikolas Tomabzis, said he had “no doubt we did the right thing. We tried to find a pragmatic, short-term solution and a medium-term solution,” referring to the AOR metric that came into force mid-season.
“It won’t necessarily dissipate [porpoising] completely, but it will be a step less.”
Mercedes CEO and team principal Toto Wolff said the bumpy track characteristics at the Yas Marina Circuit had caused the issue to return, forcing “a bit of a compromise” on set-ups. He felt it was an “important” reminder that proposing was still an issue F1 had to tackle with the rule changes, justifying the FIA’s tweaks for 2023.
Wolff said, “You come to a conclusion that it’s not a problem anymore, and then you find a track which is not even the worst in terms of bouncing and the porpoising, and the bouncing and the poor ride is back.”
George Russell who has been the most supportive of the floor changes, says he was confident it would be a step forward after porpoising emerged again in Abu Dhabi.
Russell said, “The changes the FIA are making with the raised floor edge is going to be an improvement in that regard. It definitely adds quite a lot of fatigue. I forgot what it was like to drive with the car bouncing around through the corners, downward straight a little bit.
Verstappen sets out plan for post-F1 career
Max Verstappen says when his F1 career is finished his focus will be “mainly on endurance” racing, competing in something to “have a bit more fun with less pressure.”
The two-time champion said earlier in the year that he didn’t expect to be racing into his forties, and that he is keen to sample other disciplines of motorsport. Earlier this year he signed one of the longest contracts in the sports history to stay with Red Bull until 2028.
Speaking to the media in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen said he did not expect to follow Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton’s longevity “mainly because there are too many races and being away from home too much.” He added that it was “also because I want to do other things in racing, other disciplines.”
“F1 is a lot of fun, and I’m having a lot of success at the moment. But I want to do other things as well. I know my contract runs until 2028. I will be 31 at that time. I’m probably still going to be competitive for a few more years after that.” He says when he gets to thirty-one he will want to experience other things, have a bit more fun with less pressure and less of a schedule.
Asked what racing he would be interested in doing, Verstappen said it would be “mainly endurance”, having previously expressed an interest in entering the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Dutchman has taken part in endurance racing in the Esports sphere, representing Team Redline in the Virtual Le Mans series. The Dutchman’s car finished fourth in Saturday’s 500 Miles of Sebring event
In an interview with De Telegraaf in October, two-time Le Mans winner Alonso said he would like to team up with Verstappen to enter Le Mans, and they “should definitely give that a chance if we can drive for a competitive team.”
Verstappen joked that Alonso will “never stop racing” and is “probably a little different to me in that sense”, but that they would “need to have a good opportunity” to enter Le Mans together.
Binotto’s resignation didn’t surprise Horner
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says the resignation of his Ferrari counterpart Mattia Binotto came as no surprise, despite their “great car.” He also insisted that he hasn’t been tempted to join the Italian manufacturer.
Binotto will leave his post at the end of the year, after four years as team principal. While this year was the best under his leadership where they finished second in the constructors, it was also littered with operational errors. Binotto resigned, although it is widely established this was Ferrari’s choice.
Asked if he was surprised by the news, confirmed last week following a month of denials from Ferrari, Horner told Sky Sports at the Autosport Awards, “Not really. It’s obviously Ferrari’s choice. I think it will be the sixth team principal there I’ve sat opposite since I’ve been at Red Bull!”
“It’s obviously difficult for him. They had a great car this year, they were certainly very competitive.”
Ferrari hopes to appoint a new team principal early in the new year, and it is widely expected by several sources that Fred Vasseur, the current team principal of the Ferrari-linked Alfa Romeo team, is set to replace him. But Sky Sports has also reported, that Horner was also sounded out.
Horner insisted he has no interest in leaving Red Bull, he is currently the longest severing team principal in the sport steering them to six drivers and five constructors championships in his eighteen years in the role.
He added, “My commitment is very much with the Red Bull team. I’ve been there since the beginning and we obviously have a very close attachment.”
McLaren CEO Zak Brown says Binotto’s exit was ‘harsh’, adding, “I don’t know the inner workings of Ferrari. It seemed to me that Mattia had done a pretty good job. They were very competitive this year. From my standpoint, stability and getting a team to work long term delivers the best results.”
News in Brief
Leclerc splits with girlfriend
Charles Leclerc has announced he has spilt with his long-term partner Charlotte Sine. The two have been dating since 2019, a statement posted to Instagram said “she would always be a special person to me.” And no further comments would be made and called on the press to respect their privacy.
Tsunoda doesn’t believe he naturally be team leader
Yuki Tsunoda reckons the role of team leader at the Faenza squad will go to whoever is the fastest driver in 2023. The Frenchman will be the most experienced driver with the team despite being joined by Formula E and F2 champion Nyck de Vries.
Tsunoda felt that he will also be handed more responsibility as AlphaTauri’s longest-standing driver and dismissed that De Vries will automatically take a lead role, pointing out that whoever is the fastest driver will end up taking charge of the team.
Tsunoda said when asked about his position within AlphaTauri with De Vries coming in. “Well, the faster guy is going to be leading the team anyway,”
No excuses for McLaren not seeking gains – Seidl
McLaren says the difficulties it faces in making progress up the order before its new wind tunnel arrives are no excuse for it not seeking gains in the short-term. The British team has accepted that while it redevelops its infrastructure, it will be on the back foot against the top three, Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari.
The team are hoping that the investments in a new wind tunnel and simulator which will come online in mid-2023, will have a big impact on pushing the team forwards. However, they are aware that until that happens finishing higher than fifth in the constructors will be a difficult task.
However, team principal Andreas Seidl says that does not mean the team is ready to simply sit back and wait until it can make a bigger step. Instead, he believes McLaren has the scope to lift its game and put itself in the best place possible to capitalise on opportunities that come its way.
Seidl told Motorsport.com, “The objective is clear also next year, we want to make another step again in all areas of the team. That’s not just with the car itself, including some of the weaknesses we’ve seen this year, but also with just simply making another step as a team in all aspects.”
“At the same time, I have a realistic view on where we are right now as a team. I’m also aware of the limitations we’re still having, mainly on the infrastructure side, especially compared to the teams that are running in front of us. And it’s even teams like Alpine and teams that run behind us at the moment.”
Seidl says that means there wouldn’t necessarily a step forwards in championship position, but they are all racers and wanted to do a better job. After finishing third in the constructors’ championship in 2020, McLaren was fourth in 2021 before ending up fifth this year.
While Seidl says that the sequence is not ideal, he thinks McLaren is making progress in putting together what it needs to get back to the front of the grid. Adding “For me in the end, also when I look at this season, it feels like a step backwards compared to previous seasons.”
The German says things are falling into place, but they need to make the final steps in the next few years.
CEO Zak Brown said that the team fully accepted that limitations in the technology of the Toyota wind tunnel that it currently uses will hold back its car potential until its own facility is ready.
He said, “There are things that we can identify in the wind tunnel that we’re in, and the lack of certain technologies that wind tunnel has. “It’s an aero game; it’s a drag game. Heat isn’t our friend from the grip standpoint.
Williams wins £26m in compassion from former sponsor
Williams’s former title sponsor ROKIT has been ordered to pay the te £26m by a US court. They joined Williams as a title sponsor in 2019, before featuring heavily on the team’s 2020 challenger during pre-season testing.
Once the season got underway in July following the pandemic, ROKiT no longer appeared on the Williams car. The sponsorship deal was meant to last for three years, with the possibility of a five year extension, but the company withheld the money owed and ended the deal. Williams believing their contract with ROKiT had been breached, the case was taken to court.
Last week, the United States District Court for the Central District of California, it was ruled that ROKiT is liable to pay £26,220,094.25 (£26.2m) to Williams. They are also required to cover Williams’ legal costs of around £1 million.
It’s welcome news for the Grove outfit after they finished bottom of the constructors’ championship in 2022. Their future in F1 does seem secure after the Williams family sold the team to US private investment firm Dorilton Capital.
Ben Sulayem reveals court case and $20 million deficit headaches
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has revealed two major challenges he faced after taking over the job last year, a court case and a $20 million financial black hole. Ben Sulayem was elected as president admits the scandal around last years championship decider in Abu Dhabi.
Reflecting on his first year as president, en Sulayem says that there was no honeymoon period for him as he walked straight into a legal issue. This involved a court case in the United States regarding a potential patent infringement of the halo by the FIA. The action had been brought about by its inventor Jens H. S. Nygaard.
It was settled in the end, but he told Motorsport.com, “Imagine yourself being elected in the role after all these years of trying, everybody having a party on the night of the 17th (December), then you go to the office on the 18th and 10 o’clock in the morning, the first thing you meet is your legal people and they say you have a big court case with the halo.”
Ben Sulayem says the feeling was not good, but it was resolved a month ago. He says it would have affected them in a financial way, but they have patented the halo. Sulayem also says that adding to his difficulties over recent months was clearing a cash deficit at the governing body.
he said, “There was a financial issue that we didn’t know about. We had a deficit, even before the pandemic, but I’m pleased to have cleared that.”
The financial deficit was one of the reasons that the FIA set about hiring former Volvo, Nissan and DaimlerChrysler executive Natalie Robyn to become its first CEO. That however has not been without controversy, given her previous role as a special advisor to Toto Wolff.
Ben Sulayem says he has learned a lot during his first year in charge, but thinks the process of improvement will never stop.
he said, “It has been one year of learning and one year of studying what’s going on, not just in the Formula One, but in the FIA in general. As you know, we have a very unique sport. When I talk to our colleagues in football, I say, what you have is a bit easier. You have two sides in football, you have one size of a football goal, and you have one ball.
