Max Verstappen and George Russell want F1 cars raised

[CharlieH]

 

George Russell and Max Verstappen are leading calls from drivers for Formula 1 cars to be raised for the sake of their health and safety.

Russell said the violence drivers experience when cars hit bumps on track at high speed was "unsustainable".

World champion Verstappen raised the topic with governing body the FIA at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

"End of the straight with full load, the impact is too high with the low ride-heights," Verstappen said.

The Red Bull driver said that his intervention with the FIA, in the drivers' briefing in Bahrain last weekend, was "just some advice to look ahead".

The problem was "our comfort, our spine, compression over the bumps," Verstappen told BBC Sport.

He added that F1 "had to revise that" for the new regulations that are being introduced in 2026.

But he said he was concerned that the FIA was not addressing the matter sufficiently in the new rules, which are due to be finalised in June.

"We still run very low but I don't think the 2026 car is going to be any different," Verstappen said.

The problem has arisen following the introduction of new rules in 2022 which brought back ground-effect cars with venturi underfloors.

These floors are an inverted wing that creates a low pressure area under the car, producing prodigious aerodynamic downforce. But to work most effectively, the cars have to be run very close to the ground and with stiff suspension to control the car's ride-height.

 

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