AlphaTauri pilot assumed that it is difficult that a solution will be found this year, but evaluated that it is difficult that pilots have to choose between health and performance
Pierre Gasly has asked the FIA (International Automobile Federation) for help to prevent drivers "using canes at the age of 30". The AlphaTauri driver believes that the sport's governing body has to be present in the search for solutions to the problem of kicks.
The 2022 regulations brought back the ground effect to Formula One, which put the cars as close to the ground as possible. This, however, has resulted in quiques, which affect almost all teams, albeit to very varying degrees.
During the Azerbaijan GP, several drivers complained of physical problems, mainly because of the long Baku straight. Lewis Hamilton was one of the most complained about, with Mercedes even casting doubt on the Brit's participation in the Canadian GP, a suspicion that has now been dismissed by the seven-time champion.
While Red Bull is complaining about what it has branded as "whining" from competitors, one of its own is chorusing against the quiques and asking the FIA for help in finding a solution that will help preserve the health of the competitors.
"It's not healthy, that's for sure," Gasly said. "I went through a physiotherapy session before and after every session, just because my [spinal] discs are suffering from it. You literally have no suspension. The impacts just hit your spine," he followed.
"The team keeps asking me, 'Okay, can we compromise the setup?' And I am compromising my health for performance," he pointed out. "And I will always do that, because I am a driver and I will always go for the fastest car I can. But I don't think the FIA should put us in an alley where we have to deal with health or performance," he assessed.
"That's a complicated part and clearly it's not sustainable. So that's what we discussed at the drivers' briefing and kind of alerted them to the problems, and tried to ask them to find solutions to prevent us ending up with a cane at 30," he said.
During the race in Baku, Lewis Hamilton admitted that he feared losing control of the car because of the quits, while George Russell said he had trouble hitting the braking point at times.
Gasly said that even visibility was impaired, as the mirrors "wobbled too much.
"Also, sometimes the car would wobble on its own, just because the steering wheel was wobbling. At speeds like that, it's not easy. I don't think they can fix anything by the end of the year. But hopefully they can do it for next year," he closed.