Verstappen: Mercedes flooring is the most flexible in F1

As part of the FIA’s efforts to eradicate excessive porpoising from the current generation of cars, it is introducing a series of new measures from the French Grand Prix.

As well as there being an aerodynamic oscillation limit (AOM) that teams will not be allowed to exceed, motor racing’s governing body is also cracking down on flexi-floor tricks.

There have been suspicions that some outfits have found clever ways to get around the current 2mm limit that subfloors and planks are allowed to sag.

This extra movement can help deliver a big performance advantage as it allows cars to ride closer to the ground for better downforce, without the risk of wearing out the board or setting off porpoises from ground slams. .

When details of what some teams had done emerged at an F1 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting, several teams expressed surprise.

mercedes Team boss Toto Wolff said: “Nobody had an idea until the FIA ​​spoke about it at the last technical advisory committee, which was to the great surprise of all the teams.

“What’s in the regulations and what the intent of the regulations is is pretty clear. I mean, there’s no argument that it can deviate more than what’s in the regulations. So kind of a surprise to say the least: more of a shock.”

Mercedes director of floor engineering Andrew Shovlin expressed his belief that cracking down on flexi-floor tricks would help level the playing field by tying up some other teams.

“When he appeared, we realized there were opportunities that we may not have grasped or exploited,” he said.

“So it won’t affect us in the way we handle our car. It may well affect our competitors, and by virtue of that we’re getting a bit closer.”

But despite Mercedes so welcoming the FIA’s decision, Verstappen questioned his rival’s approach.

He believes that Mercedes are the team that have shown themselves to have the most flexible floor this season.

Speaking at the Red Bull Ring on Mercedes’ support for flex floor changes, Verstappen said: “Well, what I don’t quite understand is that they are complaining about flex floors when theirs is the most flexible.”

While much of the focus on flex floor adjustments has revolved around Ferrari and Red Bull, both teams insist they won’t have to make any changes to their cars due to the new flexibility restrictions.