Franz Tost asks Lewis Hamilton and Co. to ‘stay at home’ amidst continued porpoising complaints


Franz Tost asks Lewis Hamilton and Co. to ‘stay at home’ amidst continued porpoising complaints

Franz Tost (Left) & Lewis Hamilton (Right)

Franz Tost, the team principal of AlphaTauri delivered a cold and blunt message to all the F1 drivers after many of them wouldn’t stop complaining about the porpoising. After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last week, the FIA stepped in to solve the porpoising issue, and released a new technical directive for the same. Now, one thing that needs to be understood is that the cars are bouncing so much because of the return of the ground effect, which makes cars run lower with increased downforce, and so, one of the solutions that a few teams used was raising the height of the car. 

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However, since not all the teams are suffering from this issue, raising the height of the cars meant that they would have relatively less downforce, which would make them underperform than other cars on the grid. Also, the technical directive released by the FIA is much complex, but in simple words, it is being unfair to most teams, and so, many of the team principals have not been much of a fan of the same, and that includes Franz Tost of AlphaTauri, who stated that drivers should sit at home and race if they have so many problems. 

Also read: “Very difficult to drive,” Sebastian Vettel frustrated after disastrous qualifying session

Franz Tost points out that F1 cars are not Rolls Royce cars. 

Franz Tost
Franz Tost

Tost stated that the drivers need to realize that they are not driving a Rolls Royce for comfort; he understands that it is being hard for the drivers but at the same time they’re racing and are not there for any comfort. “If the cars are too stiff, it’s too difficult for them [the drivers] maybe they should stay at home, in the living room sitting in a chair, and they can do their races,” GPFans quoted Tost.

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“It was clear from the very beginning these cars would not be easy to drive. This floor makes it necessary that cars are set up stiff, that they are quite close to the ground.”

As we head closer to the race, teams are expected to have some developments and changes to face the porpoising on a track which has a high percentage of full throttle zones. 

Also read: “Don’t underestimate Max Verstappen’s pace,” Peter Windsor warns rivals ahead of tricky wet conditions

Also read: “I will try to minimise the damage,” Sergio Perez believes he ‘let down’ Red Bull in sluggish Canadian GP qualifying

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