The FIA has responded to Max Verstappen’s concerns after the four-time world champion suggested that he is suffering significant physical ramifications due to the lack of comfort offered by the current generation of Formula One cars.
At the start of the ground-effect era, porpoising was the biggest issue facing teams as they sought to run their cars as close to the ground as possible. Regulations were tweaked, forcing teams to rectify their ride height issues and provide drivers with more comfort within the cockpit, but the physical challenges persist.
Speaking to Dutch media last weekend in Las Vegas, Verstappen said: “It hasn’t been comfortable at all, all these years – my whole back is falling apart and my feet always hurt. Physically, it hasn’t been the best.
“When you do scans, they don’t look good. On the other hand, if you look at motocross, we have nothing to complain about. But if you know what it was or what it could be, I’d rather go for what we had in 2015-2016.”
However, according to Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s single-seater director, Verstappen and his rivals won’t need to worry about the physical tribulations of low ride heights when the next generation of F1 cars hit the track in 2026.
“I think the main issue you’re referring to is the fact that cars have been running very low and very stiff,” Tombazis told Motorsport.com in Qatar. “That was something that, overall, had not been anticipated in the generation of these current cars.”
He added: “The natural direction of the aerodynamics for next year still favours low-running cars more than high-running cars – but not by the same amount. The slope of aerodynamics versus ride height is reduced, which means that the optimum will be a bit higher, and the cars will be running, we believe, a bit softer overall in order to have mechanical grip.”
Between now and then, Verstappen has a World Championship title to fight for. The Dutchman’s dreams of locking down a fifth successive crown were given an unexpected boost in Las Vegas when title rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were both disqualified for excessive plank wear.
McLaren’s loss was Verstappen’s gain. The 28-year-old is now tied on points with second-placed Piastri and trails Norris by 24. Ironically, with a sprint race to come on Saturday in Qatar, the Red Bull racer will be welcoming the shortened race – the existence of which he has routinely lamented – with open arms.
