'F1 cars up to half-second slower in 2023 due to new rules'

The FIA decided to draw up new regulations last calendar year due to the ongoing problems with porpoising. According to technical director Nikolas Tombazis, the modifications to the cars are going to ensure that the cars will not be running as fast around the tracks in 2023.

The organisation ruled last year that the dangers of porpoising were too great for the FIA to ignore. It stipulated for teams that from this season onwards, there should be 15 millimetres less clearance with the floor, which should reduce the bouncing of the cars.

Although the FIA found it difficult to reach a decision, Tombazis has not for a moment regretted the intervention. Indeed, he believes driver safety should always come first. "I’ve got no doubt we did the right thing," he said in conversation with Autosport.com.

He acknowledges that this is going to do something to the speed of the cars. Indeed, according to Tombazis, this will cost teams up to half a second per lap. "We tried to find a pragmatic, short-term solution and a medium-term solution. It won’t necessarily dissipate [porpoising] completely, but it will be a step less."