Mika Hakkinen has welcomed FIA intervention to help tackle bouncing/porposing, despite some teams and team bosses standing against it. Ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, the FIA issued a Technical Directive (TD) geared at protecting drivers from severe bouncing. They did so after a race in Azerbaijan that left some drivers, including Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo, suffering from back pain. Red Bull have the bouncing problem under control with Christian Horner viewing a mid-season change in rules as beneficial to teams who failed to get on top of the issue themselves. But Hakkinen, a two-time F1 World Champion with McLaren, has praised the FIA for acting quickly and listening to drivers on the topic. "It is good to see the FIA listening to concerns about driver safety," started Hakkinen, speaking to UniBet . "As usual, the best way to get to sort it out is to measure what’s happening and then make some decisions based on what the data shows. "Of course, some teams want to see changes, especially if the porpoising is making their cars uncompetitive, but once the FIA, teams and drivers can get an accurate picture of what’s really happening, the right steps can be taken.”
Hakkinen: Mercedes have the one thing Red Bull and Ferrari lack
After threatening disqualification for cars that bounce too often or too severely, the FIA took the decision to pull back on their threats until more data on the issue had been gathered. Some teams still made changes to their cars, as per the TD, with Mercedes ending the weekend with Lewis Hamilton on the podium for the first time since the season-opener in Bahrain. They remain the only team on the grid yet to suffer a retirement with both Hamilton and teammate George Russell having scored consistent results throughout the season. “Mercedes has the one thing both Red Bull and Ferrari lack: reliability," Hakkinen continued as he moved to praise the silver arrows. “They are also quick enough to be consistently the third fastest car on the track and able to pick up good points whenever Red Bull or Ferrari have any issues. "This looked like a step forward in terms of race set-up. The team have been trying new things on the car, sometimes making it very difficult for both drivers, but Sunday looked positive.”
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