The Fastest Man On the Paddock Max Verstappen Left Amused By F1 Technical Directive Rumored to Drag Red Bull Down

Max Verstappen delivered a monstrous performance at the Spa-Francorchamps, in Belgium this weekend. The current F1 champion has taken everyone aback by clocking the fastest speed on the sheet on Saturday and winning the race on Sunday. Apart from making his presence felt on the track, the Dutch driver also took a little dig at the FIA.

On Saturday, Red Bull Racing’s star driver clocked 1:44.581 on the sheet and was ahead of P2 Carlos Sainz by around 0.47 seconds. Verstappen also won the race after starting from P14 on the grid, due to the engine penalty. From being on pole, to setting the fastest lap and winning the race from the back of the grid, this is surely one of the most dominant performances by the defending F1 champion.

Amidst his fiery performance, the Dutch driver also joked about the new FIA floor change directive. In a post-qualifying conference, Verstappen stated, “Yes, this technical directive has been very, very bad for us.” (translated using Google)

However, when asked about his qualification performance, the Red Bull driver asserted, “didn’t expect it to make a big difference to our car.”

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Verstappen further opened up about his competitors, “Whether that’s the case for Ferrari, I don’t know. And Mercedes is a bit short of top speed this year anyway, so it’s no surprise they’re not competitive here.”

The new FIA rule change

FIA has recently approved changes to the F1 floor for next season. The move comes after complaints from drivers and teams regarding the health issues caused by porpoising.

The motorsports governing body has initially decided to keep the rise to 25mm. After further discussions with the drivers and teams, it was finally decided to keep them to 15mm.

Porpoising has some really dangerous effects on drivers’ health. Mercedes, the team that suffers the bitter part of this, has made repeated complaints against this. Team drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have been actively vocal against it.

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Russell stated that porpoising gives him chest pains and takes his breath away. Moreover, a further study revealed porpoising might lead to brain damage if exposed for a longer period. As the much-needed change is finally in place, it’ll be interesting how the teams cope with the change next year.