Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has accused some of his rival team bosses of missing the point on porpoising, describing their actions as "political manoeuvring". Ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, the FIA made the decision to intervene on the bouncing phenomenon. It came following consultations with both doctors and drivers. One week prior in Azerbaijan, drivers were left complaining about back pain, with Pierre Gasly revealing that he had taken multiple painkillers in order to endure the race weekend. However, not all teams are suffering from the effects of porpoising, with Red Bull amongst those who stand opposed to FIA intervention in fear that they are being punished for finding their own cure for the problem while others haven't.
Wolff: They're missing the core topic, it's safety
The topic was discussed by team bosses during the Canadian GP weekend in what Christian Horner described as a meeting filled with "drama" and "theatre" – all while Netflix cameras watched on. The Red Bull boss then joked that Lewis Hamilton, who is currently working on an F1 film, should find Wolff a role in the movie following his behaviour in Montreal. But Wolff says his rivals are missing the point, with the Austrian adamant that the FIA are intervening to protect drivers, not to help teams. "I think that the political manoeuvring that has been going on doesn't consider what is at the core of this topic," he said, speaking to media including RacingNews365.com . "The core of this topic is that, since the beginning of the season, race drivers have been complaining about pain when driving these cars. It's back pain, blurred vision, we're talking about micro concussions. "I think just from Alfa Romeo and Williams I haven't heard anything, in all the other teams drivers have referred to the topic."
Wolff says team bosses have a responsibility to make change
During the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, Mercedes claimed that their drivers were subject to vertical forces of 6G, hence Hamilton's post-race back pain. There were also complaints from Daniel Ricciardo, who likened the sensation to having his head bounced by a basketball player. "It's something we just need to tackle," continued Wolff, who insists Mercedes, in terms of performance, are not benefitting from any changes. "Whatever the solution is, whatever technically can be implemented, we need to go in that direction and we need to be aware that this is not about cutting a winglet that is an advantage for our team, or double diffuser. "All of us team principals and teams have the responsibility to not take this lightly."
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