Pierre Gasly has accused the FIA of leaving drivers to risk their health in favour of car performance amid calls to lessen the effects of bouncing. The AlphaTauri driver complained that his muscles have never felt so tight behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car following the difficult Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The problems being suffered by teams come not just from porpoising but also from the stiffer suspension as a result of the sport's new regulations. That has left drivers bouncing in their cockpits, with Gasly complaining that a solution must be found to prevent the current crop of drivers from "ending up with a cane at 30 years old." Lewis Hamilton was amongst the worst-affected drivers in Baku, and struggled to get out of his car following the 51-lap race.
Gasly: I don't think the FIA should put us in a corner
Hamilton's teammate, George Russell, has been amongst the most vocal drivers demanding change, and now Gasly has joined the pair as he accused the FIA of leaving drivers in a difficult position. "I need to find someone to give me a massage tonight because, really, I'm extremely tight," he told media, including RacingNews365.com . "The whole weekend, I've never been as tight driving an F1 car. It's never been as brutal." Gasly hopes that the governing body will look into possible solutions for the issue. "It's not healthy, that's for sure," the Frenchman stated. "I've had physio sessions before and after every session because my spine is suffering from it. You have literally no suspension, it's just it's going through your spine. "The team are asking me if we can compromise the set-up, but I'm compromising my health for the performance. "I'll always do it because I'm a driver. I'll always go for the fastest car I can. But I don't think the FIA should put us in a corner where you've got to decide between health and performance. "So at the moment that's the tricky part of it, and [it's] clearly not not sustainable. That's why we discussed it at the drivers' briefing, and kind of alerted them on this problem and try to ask them to find solutions, to save us from ending up with a cane at 30 years old."
How hard is it to drive a bouncing F1 car?
During Friday practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Hamilton strayed into the pit entry before swerving back onto the circuit. When reminded by his team that he is not allowed to do that, he told them that the car's bouncing left him unable to see where we was on track. The Mercedes driver was not alone, with his rivals complaining that visibility in seeing things such as braking points has been dramatically affected by the problem. "The mirrors are shaking like hell," said Gasly. "It's like the vibration frequencies climb and the visibility gets really poor. "And also, sometimes the car is moving on its own, just because the steering is shaking at such speed. It's not easy. Hopefully, they can change it but I don't think they can until the end of the year. But hopefully for next year."
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