Norris disagrees with ‘porpoising’ regulation modifications but emphasizes driver safety

PARIS: FIA proposals to implement improvements to lessen or eradicate the “porpoising” issue plaguing Formula One vehicles this season have confused Lando Norris, McLaren’s director of racing, who stressed on Monday that driver safety was important.

As a result of this year’s drastic regulation change in Formula 1, vehicles now produce the majority of their downforce from the bottom.

Thus, the “porpoising,” in which the vehicles bounce violently at high speeds like a porpoise in water, has developed and spread.

Hamilton, seven-time Formula One world champion, struggled to get out of his Mercedes after a grueling race in Azerbaijan on Sunday.

However, Red Bull’s Christian Horner, whose team leads both titles and has a more reliable vehicle, has stated it is unjust to modify the regulations for everybody mid-season when one team is suffering more than others.

Norris penned that the issue has left him feeling perplexed as porpoising hasn’t had much of an impact on them so they are not urging for it to be addressed. 

He claimed that the McLaren team will learn from their mistakes ahead of their home British Grand Prix, which they failed to score any points in at the Canadian Grand Prix due to a five-second time penalty for Norris.