FIA issues new measures to tackle F1 driver back pain caused by porpoising, which has affected Lewis Hamilton

The FIA has issued a technical directive to Formula One teams in an attempt to reduce porpoising after several drivers reported back pain.

The bouncing of cars occurs when they lose and regain downforce in quick succession, which leads to vehicles moving up and down.

Lewis Hamilton was in visible pain following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff saying he was unsure if the former world champion would be fit for the next race in Canada. Hamilton has since confirmed he will be taking part.

McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo stood by Hamilton, saying he was “not exaggerating” his discomfort, having felt the full force of a bumpy ride in Baku himself.

The FIA says teams will be required to make any necessary changes in order to comply with new measures, which currently include:

• Closer scrutiny of the planks and skids, both in terms of their design and the observed wear.

• The definition of a metric, based on the car’s vertical acceleration, that will give a quantitative limit for acceptable level of vertical oscillations. The exact mathematical formula for this metric is still being analysed by the FIA, and the Formula 1 teams have been invited to contribute to this process.

A meeting with teams will take place in Canada ahead of this weekend’s race to discuss how the measures will be implemented.

“Following the eighth round of this year’s FIA Formula One World Championship, during which the phenomenon of aerodynamic oscillations (“porpoising”) of the new generation of Formula 1 cars, and the effect of this during and after the race on the physical condition of the drivers was once again visible, the FIA, as the governing body of the sport, has decided that, in the interests of the safety, it is necessary to intervene to require that the teams make the necessary adjustments to reduce or to eliminate this phenomenon.

The FIA says it intends to move quickly with these plans in a bid to help the “immediate physical impact on the health of the drivers, a number of whom have reported back pain following recent events.”