Lewis Hamilton does not believe a new FIA technical directive, geared at reducing or at best eliminating porpoising, will have an impact on the order of the grid for this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix. The seven-time World Champion has welcomed the FIA's intervention on the matter after he was left nursing back pain following the previous race of the season in Azerbaijan. Mercedes claimed that Hamilton was subject to up to 6G in vertical forces behind the wheel of his W13 in Baku, leaving him at one stage a doubt for the race in Montreal. But the Briton will race this weekend with a car that must now adhere to new safety rules imposed on the entire grid on Thursday afternoon.
Hamilton in favour of FIA decision to intervene
The new rules have been met with a varied response up and down the paddock. Max Verstappen stands against mid-season FIA intervention, while George Russell welcomed the new plan. Hamilton has agreed with his teammate, disagreeing with Verstappen as he sat alongside him during the pre-weekend press conference, as he offered his first thoughts on the new technical directive. He told media, including RacingNews365.com : "It's always interesting seeing people's perspectives and opinions in different lights. Obviously, in front of you, it's one thing, but in the background, sometimes, people say different things. "But ultimately, I think safety is the most important thing. I think there's at least one driver in every team has spoken on it."
Hamilton believes pecking order will remain unchanged
Despite the changes, Hamilton does not expect the pecking order to change for the Canadian Grand Prix, with Red Bull and Ferrari having remained constantly ahead of Mercedes so far this season. "I don't think it's going to change a huge amount," he admitted. "But I think there's a lot of work that needs to be done and it's positive that the FIA are working towards improving it. "We have this car for the next few years, so it's not about coping with the bouncing for the next four years, it is about completely getting rid of it and fixing it, so that the future drivers, all of us, don't have back problems. "I don't think really is going to change much in terms of performance. I might be wrong. Who knows? We'll see."
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