The FIA issued technical directive TD039 Thursday afternoon regarding the so-called porpoising phenomenon, which it claims has had an effect on the physical condition of Formula 1 drivers. The Federation stressed that it's issuing this directive on the grounds of safety, as many racers have claimed to suffer from severe back pain during and after a race due to the violent bouncing motion of the car—most recently Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton in Baku.TD039 is not a solution for porpoising, but rather a sort of mandate telling the teams that they must find a solution to this safety issue or risk consequences. Furthermore, and as Auto Motor Sport explains, the FIA is also setting parameters to monitor porpoising levels in the cars, which involves establishing a range of acceptable vertical oscillations and forces inflicted on the drivers each race weekend. Should a car exceed that preset limit it would be considered unsafe and ultimately be disqualified.
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