Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has said that the regulations for next season are “up in the air,” and believes that there should have been instant action taken against deflecting floor planks.
The FIA introduced a technical directive at the Canadian Grand Prix, in which they will create a metric for oscillating movement from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards.
This is in a bid to get “porpoising” and bouncing under control to make sure that it does not become a safety issue and, when they measured the cars, they found some interesting stuff.
They found that the wooden planks on some of the cars were moving more than 2mm in parts of it that are not covered by regulations, and they also discovered moving skid blocks that reduce wear.
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The moving blocks will not be permitted after the summer break, but there is still debate as to whether not not the flexible floors will be legal next season.
This comes amid a raft of changes to the wing edges and diffuser throats next year that will help counter the aerodynamic phenomenon caused by the return of ground effect, but the immediate issues around the floors are yet to be entirely resolved.
“There was a regulatory change or like a technical directive to make clear what the FIA wishes to not see any more at Spa and is particular on the skids,” Wolff told Sky Sports.
“And then for next year, they’re talking about what can be done in in order to remove some of the questions around the floor or the plank, having a little bit of compliance.
“So yeah, it’s still up in the air.”
The Austrian suggested that the “flexi-floors” should have been banned as soon as the governing body noticed them.
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“I think it was a coincidence that the FIA spotted it in one of the races, and made it very clear that this was not on,” added Wolff.
“First of all, there is no such thing as a magic bullet, unless you speak of a double diffuser, so that’s not going to make a big difference.
“They [Red Bull and Ferrari] will probably only need to run the car a little bit higher on the front on the bib [of the floor] than they used to be.
“I think this TD should have been brought into place once it was discovered three races ago, so the argument of ‘is it fair to have brought it into the middle of the season?’ is the wrong one.
“It should have been introduced when it was discovered, because it’s clearly much more than a loophole.”
Red Bull and Ferrari are said to be among six teams that have protested the proposed rule changes next season, as they feel that the goalposts are being moved due to Mercedes’ struggles for performance this season.