Carlos Sainz claims several drivers are suffering from ‘back pain’ due to rigid new-gen cars
Carlos Sainz has shared his thoughts on the drawbacks of the new-gen F1 cars.
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Carlos Sainz at Monza (Via IMAGO)
Carlos Sainz, the Ferrari Formula 1 driver, has been having a pretty solid season behind the wheel of the SF-23 this year. He has performed exceptionally well but has recently shed light on a major issue that is causing a lot of problems for the F1 drivers. He believes the new-generation rigid F1 cars are causing quite a plethora of back problems for the drivers.
2022 saw the dawn of new regulations kicking in at the pinnacle of motor racing and introduced a different generation of F1 cars. During the turbo hybrid era, the cars looked significantly different, and the drivers were not often seen complaining about their cars. However, since last year, the trend has changed, and Carlos Sainz is the latest in a long list of drivers who have complained about the new-gen cars.
The Spaniard was recently asked to share his thoughts regarding the challenges drivers face while driving the new F1 cars. While talking about it in detail, he said, as reported by FormulaPassion, “These cars are very hard on the driver. Their high stiffness is not ideal for our backs and shoulders. These Formula 1 find performance the stiffer you can turn.”
He added, “I would consider this situation. In recent years, many have begun to have back problems. My back was already destroyed in 2015, so I’d say I’m used to it. In any case we will always look for performance rather than comfort. Teams wouldn’t ride with softer suspension if that meant going slower.”
Carlos Sainz feels it’s getting difficult each year to overtake
While Carlos Sainz is not too pleased with the back problems drivers are incurring driving the new-gen cars, he also ardently believes it is getting difficult to overtake each year. He added, “These cars are starting to get worse in the race. The benefit we felt in the first year in overtaking opportunities is already fading.“
The 29-year-old has made it known that the overtaking benefit everyone witnessed in 2022 has completely vanished and that the situation will get tougher and tougher in the upcoming years for the Formula 1 drivers. 2026 is when the next set of regulation changes will take effect in the sport.
While Carlos Sainz envisions an uphill battle for the drivers until 2026, there will always be winners and losers. Moreover, from his and Ferrari’s point of view, he’d rather endure the pain and fight for wins and championships than wait for the new regulations to kick in. Ferrari has the car in 2022 to fight for wins, and Sainz would hope the same is true during 2024.
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)