“This Is Not a Rolls Royce”: F1 Drivers Slammed, Asked to Stay at Home Over Racing Controversies

As the porpoising problem continues to plague the teams, cars, and drivers, a host of F1 entities shares their opinion. The problem is more severe for some teams than the others. However, the complaints of the health risk caused by the serve bouncing cannot be ignored as safety is a priority. And this is exactly why the FIA intervened and issued a directive for teams facing the issue. The directive has split the grid further, as advocates and critics of the FIA directive.

The AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost is a critique as he predicted the outcome because of the low ride height. The boss was harsh in his criticism of the problem, which is also faced by his team pilot Pierre Gasly.

The AlphaTauri boss told the media at the Canadian GP, “When this new regulation was created, it was clear from the very beginning onwards that these cars will not be easy to drive.”

Tost concluded by saying, “This is not a Rolls Royce. And drivers should be aware of this. And if the cars are too stiff, or it’s too difficult for them, maybe they should stay at home, in the living room, sit in the chair, and then they can do the races on TV or wherever. I don’t know.”

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A harsh assessment from the team boss as the FIA, among other entities, tries and finds a solution to the problem. The 2022 regulations promised a lot of changes to the sport to make it more competitive. However, the changes are yet to take center stage with the porpoising attracting all the attention so far.

Pierre Gasly, among other F1 drivers, voiced his concerns regarding the porpoising

Pierre Gasly won’t be happy with his team’s boss’ stance on the porpoising issue, especially after the Frenchman has already voiced his opinion. After the Azerbaijan GP, the porpoising caused physical pain to multiple drivers and Gasly was one of them.

He said, “It’s not healthy, that’s for sure. I’ve had a physio session before and after every session, just because my [spinal] discs are suffering from it. You have literally no suspension. It just hits going through your spine.”

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The tricky part is that in order to reduce the bouncing, the teams have to compromise the performance of the car. And, naturally, no F1 driver wants to be less competitive during a race.

The entire situation puts drivers into a corner where they must choose between health or performance. Not an ideal situation, to say the least!