Max Verstappen issues withering Mercedes putdown as F1 rulemakers take action

World champion Max Verstappen believes F1 teams struggling with porpoising and/or bouncing only have themselves to blame.

The issue has been the talk of the paddock this season, with constructors’ champions Mercedes the worst affected. George Russell and team boss Toto Wolff have called for action from the FIA to combat the issue while drivers of other teams have also spoken out, insisting safety and long-term health is their primary concern rather than performance.

And ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, the sport’s governing body has taken action by issuing a technical directive which will force teams struggling with bouncing to alter the setup of their cars to protect their drivers, with a limit on the level of “vertical oscillations” being introduced.

That is set to see ride heights being raised on some cars, which could have a detrimental impact on Mercedes, who are already struggling to keep up with Red Bull and Ferrari, even if it would be a more comfortable ride for Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

When asked about the issue ahead of F1’s first visit to Montreal since 2019, Verstappen said he had little sympathy for teams which are struggling with bouncing.

His Red Bull team has been among the least affected on the grid and the Dutchman does not agree with mid-season rules changes.

Who will win the Canadian Grand Prix? Have your say in the comments section below.

“I think it’s a bit disappointing that again there is a rule change mid-season, I would say,” Verstappen told RACER. “It’s not even about affecting us more or less than other teams, but it shouldn’t be that one team is complaining a lot and suddenly then they change the regs around it.

“I think there are a lot of teams that actually did an amazing job to not have these kind of issues, so it is possible to drive around it. If you raise your car then you won’t have these issues, but you lose performance. But if you can’t design the car properly for that then that’s your fault, it’s not the regs fault. For me that is a bit of a shame.”

Practice for the Canadian Grand Prix gets underway today with the first session at 7pm and 10pm UK time.

Source: Read Full Article