“Ah, so I put pressure on the Federation? And when he locks himself in his office what does he do?” – In this way Toto Wolff responded to Christian Horner’s allegations of lobbying so that the FIA decide to intervene against porpoising – the aerodynamic bouncing which was caused by the new ground effect rules, but which mainly affected the Mercedes W13 this season – through two channels, a technical directive that debuted at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on the occasion of the Belgian Grand Prix and a compromise for the 2023 Formula 1 regulation which will force teams to raise the floor of the cars in some strategic points by 15 millimeters compared to what is expected in the current 2022 championship.
The political tug-of-war between Red Bull and Mercedes was already heated in 2021, starting from the flexible rear wings, with the Milton Keynes team – and with it many others, including Ferrari – forced to stiffen their wing starting from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku to comply with the news tests imposed by the FIA.
The fight off the track was perpetrated every weekend via radio messages, increasing the pressure on former race director Michael Masi, which all led to the controversial ending in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Even in the current season there was no shortage of differences, although Red Bull’s superiority then quickly extinguished any potential controversy.
Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, former Ferrari president, stressed that politics is an aspect to be constantly taken into consideration in Formula 1, an aspect which is one of the many ways a team boss has to use to protect his men and their work. “In this sport you need passion and dedication. You have to be there every day and every evening. You have to do a lot of politics to support your team, because others do. You have to be strong to resist and preserve your team”, the words of Luca Cordero di Montezemolo interviewed by French sports newspaper L’Equipe. A warning from the former Ferrari president to the current people in charge of leading the Maranello team, not to neglect the politics, which often leads to making decisions capable of altering the fate of a season or a regulation cycle.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection from Puma! Enter the online Puma Store and shop securely! And get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
This season Mattia Binotto stressed that from a protocol point of view the technical directive against porpoising followed an unconventional process – the FIA’s justification based on the safety factor was done only to avoid the need to have practically unanimity of the teams, which is required for a regulation change – while regarding the new technical and financial regulation of the 2026 power units, the compromise between benefits for newcomers and recognition for those who have always raced in Formula 1 like Ferrari was acceptable.
Leave a Reply