Horner: 'Not the FIA's job to make a team competitive again'

There is considerable wrangling in Formula 1 over possible rule changes for 2023. Mercedes is strongly in favour of changes that would reduce porpoising and improve safety. Red Bull Racing however argues that changes to the rules are unnecessary and the discussion continues after the French Grand Prix.

Mercedes argues that new rules are needed to ensure the safety of the drivers. Red Bull, however, argues that the teams in Formula 1 can remedy the bouncing of the cars themselves by simply raising the car a little. This does come at the cost of some performance, but porpoising will disappear.

The FIA is now poised to intervene, but Horner stressed in an interview with Autosport.com that it is not the task of the governing body to ensure that a racing stable becomes competitive again. Earlier this weekend the Red Bull Racing team boss said that Mercedes is lobbying hard to push the changes through. Toto Wolff then responded wittily on behalf of Mercedes.

Too late' for new F1 rules

Horner is hoping for a 'sensible decision' from the FIA, but he is keen to say that changing the rules for next year is already too late, especially given the budget cap that all formations have to adhere to. At Red Bull they think it will be an even bigger problem for some of the smaller teams, as they simply don't have the resources to react so quickly.

"It’s too late to redesign a car now for next year," says Horner. He fears the FIA may be overreacting, as Red Bull claim we have seen very few teams suffer from porpoising over the last three or four weekends. The winter is also long enough for the teams affected by porpoising to get their affairs in order for 2023, according to Horner.