F1 pecking order changes will be "minimal" in porpoising clampdown

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Formula 1

F1 pecking order changes will be "minimal" in porpoising clampdown

Potential changes could alter the pecking order

Ewan Gale

Friday 17 June 2022 16:25 Updated: 09:32

AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly believes any change to F1's pecking order as a result of the FIA's actions against aggressive bouncing will be "minimal".

The sport's governing body announced ahead of this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix that measures would be introduced in order to tackle the vicious oscillations experienced by drivers through either aerodynamic porpoising or mechanical bouncing.

Drivers have been complaining of back pains due to the bouncing, with last weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix leaving Gasly warning of being left with a cane in his 30s.

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But after the FIA announced the intended measures, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner warned of swings in F1's pecking order.

Countering those claims, Gasly said: "I think it [the pecking order change] is going to be minimal.

"We are talking about things that could be changed that could affect a very very little part of the performance of everyone's cars."

Gasly - "It's a concern for our health"

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner intimated in Baku that rival drivers were being urged by underperforming teams to "bitch" about the issues they were facing in order to push through changes.

"Putting the interest of any team or any car aside, we all clearly said this is clearly too much," added Gasly.

"You can't even realise what it is like, watching from onboard or watching from outside.

"Once you are driving the car and you get hit for an hour and a half driving at 330kph, it is all a different perception once you actually experience what it is.

"So we are actually in the best place to discuss the matter and I am just happy they understood that this is a serious topic for all of us going forward.

"We are not here just to complain and it is not the fact we want to complain about something, we are not like that.

"We all love the sport as it is, we are all just trying to make it a better place and push it forward.

"This is just a concern for our health. All of us, before even relating it to any performance, putting all performance aside."