From bumpy cars to the Ferrari crisis: this is what awaits at the Canada race

World champion Max Verstappen came to Montreal with a tailwind and as the championship leader. The debate about the harmful health effects of bouncing cars continues. On Thursday, the world association FIA intervened.

According to a statement, “in the interest of safety,” racing teams are required to “reduce or eliminate this phenomenon.” This decision was made after consultation with the doctors. The teams should now make “the necessary adjustments”. In addition to short-term technical measures on the cars, the FIA will also convene a meeting with the teams to define further steps to ensure that the problems can no longer occur in the long term.

“In a sport in which participants routinely ride at speeds in excess of 300 km/h, it is assumed that a rider’s entire concentration must be focused on this task,” it said. Excessive driver fatigue or pain could have significant consequences. In addition, the FIA has “concerns about the immediate physical impact on the drivers’ health.”

Lewis Hamilton has been following behind in his Mercedes so far. © ANSA / ALI HAIDER

Former world champion Lewis Hamilton, in particular, recently climbed out of his cockpit in a drawn state. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff even expressed concerns about a trip to Canada after the Azerbaijan race, but his star ruled out a break. And received support from an apparently insightful team. The setup settings in Hamilton's car in Azerbaijan were pushed too far, said chief strategist James Vowles. “We now have a responsibility to ensure that this does not continue.”

In fact, more and more drivers are expressing their health concerns, which are probably due to the uncontrollable raising and lowering of the cars on the straights (bouncing) this season. “The drivers put their heads together and all but one said it was a problem,” Wolff said recently. Only Fernando Alonso doesn't mind the violent shaking that is a side effect of the new aerodynamics rules. How does the FIA react? We recently heard that the FIA could prescribe a minimum floor height. Naturally, Christian Horner doesn't think so. “It would be unfair to punish those who have done their homework,” said the Red Bull team boss. According to Horner, the other teams could “screw a thicker floor plate on it if they wanted, or raise the car.”

The Red Bull team has recently won five races in a row, and Verstappen achieved four of these victories. So while the bulls are on a high, Ferrari is making its Canadian comeback after a three-year break with a series of breakdowns. The double failure in the race in Baku marked the low point of the Scuderia's recent form crisis. “It hurts, but I never give up!” Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc put his Ferrari on pole position four times in a row, but he never won the Grand Prix afterwards. Two engine failures, a driving error and the strategy disaster in Monaco threw the 24-year-old back to third place in the title race. “It hurts, but I never give up,” said Leclerc, faced with a 34-point deficit. His team is working hard to find the causes of the latest defects, which also affected teammate Carlos Sainz. “We have to fix the problem and make our engine unit stronger for the future,” said team boss Mattia Binotto.

The fans in Montreal are looking forward to the comeback. The organizers expected a sold-out house. The last appearance of the premier class at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was heated: Sebastian Vettel lost the victory to Hamilton due to a controversial five-second penalty. In anger, he then swapped the displays for the first and second place cars and placed the 1 in front of his parking space.

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From bumpy cars to the Ferrari crisis: this is what awaits at the Canada race

Formula 1 doesn't give itself or its drivers' battered backs a break. Just a week after the race in Azerbaijan, the ninth race of the season in Canada is taking place on Sunday (20 p.m.), around 9.000 kilometers away as the crow flies.

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