Pierre Gasly has joined a long list of drivers in criticising the FIA for the persistent porpoising issue after discussing the situation during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
the Scuderia AlphaTauri driver had a fantastic race, finishing 5th overall in the race held at the Baku City Circuit . Late in the race, Gasly was passed by Sir Lewis Hamilton, who appeared to be in pain as a result of the bouncing.
The three major figures who have spoken out against the new regulations’ “unhealthy” design defect are George Russell, Hamilton, and Gasly. Russell was concerned that porpoising is a ticking time bomb and it will only be a matter of time before a major incident occurs.
Russell’s assertion was supported by Gasly’s statements in Baku, with the French driver admitting that it is something really horrifying.
“Sometimes the car is moving on its own, just because the steering is shaking,” Gasly revealed. “At such speed, it’s not easy. I don’t think they can fix something until the end of the year. But hopefully for next year.”
Gasly revealed that the majority of the twenty drivers had conveyed their concerns to FIA race director Niels Wittich. Due to virtually no suspension as the cars are literally bouncing, the 26-year-old detailed how the drivers’ spines are suffering as a result of the issue.
“It’s not healthy, that’s for sure,” continued the AlphaTauri driver. “I’ve had a physio session before and after every session, just because my [spine] discs are suffering from it.”
“You have literally no suspension. It just hits going through your spine.”
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner was quick to complain about the drivers’ concerns about porpoising, claiming that Red Bull Racing was the only team that had not experienced the issue. In Baku, Horner stated that teams can simply adjust the ride height to alleviate the problem, but this would significantly impact performance.
Gasly is aware that he is sacrificing his health for performance, but he is adamant that he will continue to do so.
“The team is asking me, ‘OK, we can compromise the set-up?’ and I’m compromising my health for the performance and I’ll always do it, because I’m a driver and I always go for the fastest car I can,” Gasly admitted. “But I don’t think FIA should put us in a corner where you got to deal between health and performance.”
“That’s the tricky part of it, and clearly not sustainable. So that’s what we discussed 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.”
