Symonds disagrees with FIA approach: 'Mercedes went public quite loudly'

Pat Symonds may play a part in Formula 1's new regulations, but he does not so much agree with the way the FIA tackled porpoising. F1's chief technical officer believes there was an "overreaction" to the bouncing bolides in Baku.

Symonds admits that, even when the new regulations were drafted, no account was taken of the porpoising problems that surfaced at the start of the season. He admits it could have been known in advance, as Adrian Newey also explained earlier.

Symonds also had previous experience of the ground effect. He started back in the early 1980s at Toleman, which after a takeover came to be known as Benetton and later Renault. He, therefore, admits that he could have seen it coming, but had simply forgotten about it. "There is no doubt that the bouncing has changed things," he says in conversation with Auto, Motor und Sport.

Symonds disagrees with FIA approach

However, the 69-year-old Briton cannot quite agree with the way the FIA has intervened after persistent lobbying from the Mercedes garage, led by Toto Wolff. After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton came crawling out of his car, the team boss cited medical reports as evidence that porpoising had a negative effect on drivers' health.

"I think they overreacted a bit after Baku," Symonds continued. "In Baku, we saw the worst repercussions because a team tried something that didn't work and then went public quite vociferously. If they hadn't intervened, the problems would have been solved. Most teams now understand how to control bouncing."