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Lando Norris wants the FIA directive to suit everyone and not benefit any singular entity. The Briton wrote about the porpoising row and the FIA technical directive in his column in The Telegraph, where he admitted to being conflicted about the issue.
Elaborating on the fairness required in the decisions taken, the Briton said:
“My main concern is that it is fair for everyone – ideally you would implement any changes post-season – but inevitably it is going to affect some more than others. Obviously, we have designed our car one way, with a certain philosophy in mind, and it could move things more in our direction or away from it. We shall see. There are people far brainier than me tasked with working it out.”
The McLaren driver feels it will be better to introduce rule changes after the season rather than mid-season as it would benefit some and not others. Lando Norris admitted to being conflicted about the porpoising row as his team was not affected by it, but he did support driver safety and addressing the long-term effects of the bouncing.
Explaining his conflicted views on the technical directive, the McLaren driver said:
“I must admit to being a bit conflicted on it. The truth is we are not massively affected by porpoising, so we were not pushing for change. But safety has to come first. If there is a real danger that drivers could have long-term health consequences from the bouncing, or that they could lose focus and crash, then something has to be done. I can see both sides.”
Lando Norris empathizes with teams against a mid-season rule change
Empathizing with teams who are against a mid-season rule change, the McLaren driver felt it was unfair to those who had resolved their porpoising issues or built better cars. Lando Norris, however, believes if there are genuine safety concerns, then they need to be addressed.
Prioritizing health and safety, the Briton said:
“The front two teams have clearly done a much better job than anyone else of interpreting the rules, so I can see why they would be against change mid-season. At the same time, without having experienced the severity of porpoising that others have, I do not want to criticise anyone. Safety has to come first, and while it might not be affecting me now, these regulations are long term. If I had a problem in a year or two which I felt was endangering my health, I know I would want my fellow drivers to have my back.”
At the moment, the row over porpoising is largely being anchored by Mercedes, who have made the loudest noise about safety. Despite the FIA’s intervention, the team is unhappy with the temporary solutions provided. In McLaren’s case, it is evident from Lando Norris’ words that the porpoising on their car has not been severe.
