Christian Horner once again took aim at rivals Mercedes, this time after Lewis Hamilton claimed a podium finish at the Canadian Grand Prix - his second of the season. After a difficult practice session on Friday, the Brit bounced back superbly to qualify fourth and finish third on race day.
Having suffered back issues due to the severe porpoising at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix earlier this month, the seven-time champion responded remarkably well. But throughout the season, the Silver Arrows have raised complaints about the impact the problem is having on their drivers.
Last week, the FIA announced a series of measures to reduce and hopefully eradicate the bouncing in the interests of safety. It came after other teams also spoke of experiencing the phenomenon in the new F1 cars. This seems to have angered Horner, who told Toto Wolff and his troops to focus on themselves before claiming they need to correct their own issues.
“The issue with Mercedes is more severe, or certainly has been prior to [Canada] than any other car. That surely is down to the team,” he said. “That's within their control to deal with that, if it's not affecting others. I know it was said other drivers have been complaining. Our drivers have never complained ever about porpoising. They've said certain circuits could do with tidying up, perhaps resurfacing in places.
“But we haven't had an issue with bouncing. The problem is they're running their car so stiff. I think their concept is the issue rather than the regulation.” He added: “These cars are still relatively new, I think as teams add developments to their cars, you'll probably start to see them start to address some of these issues.
“And you can't just suddenly change technical regulations halfway through a season. If a car is dangerous, a team shouldn't field it: it has that choice. Or the FIA, if they feel an individual car is dangerous, they always have a black flag at their disposal.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris, who claimed he has not been affected much by porpoising, was conflicted by the changes, but stressed the safety of drivers is vital. "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," Norris wrote in the Daily Telegraph .
"If there is a real danger that drivers could have long-term health consequences ... or that they could lose focus and crash, then something has to be done. Safety has to come first, and while it might not be affecting me now, these regulations are long-term.
"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."
