The gruelling physical demands of Formula 1’s ground effect era have left lasting marks on the grid’s drivers, with world champion Max Verstappen among those speaking openly about chronic pain and medical concerns. The FIA has now acknowledged it should have intervened earlier to address the porpoising phenomenon that plagued the sport since 2022, when sweeping technical regulations transformed how teams generated downforce. The governing body’s admission comes as teams prepare for another regulatory revolution in 2026, with officials confident the next generation of machinery will avoid repeating the same mistakes.
Verstappen opens up on years of physical discomfort
The four-time world champion did not mince words when describing the toll the current regulations have taken on his body. Verstappen revealed that persistent back problems and foot pain have become routine companions throughout the ground effect era, with medical scans painting a concerning picture of the cumulative damage.
“It has been totally uncomfortable all these years,” the Red Bull Racing driver stated candidly during the closing stages of last season. “My entire back sometimes almost falls apart and my feet always hurt. Physically it has not been the nicest. If you have scans done, they just don’t look good.”
The Dutchman drew comparisons to motocross racing, acknowledging that F1 drivers perhaps shouldn’t complain when measured against other motorsport disciplines. Yet his preference was clear: given the choice, he would opt for the regulations that governed the sport in 2015 and 2016, before the current ground effect philosophy took hold.
How the ground effect era caught everyone off guard
The 2022 technical regulations ushered in a new philosophy for generating downforce, with Venturi tunnels beneath the floor replacing the complex front and rear wing configurations that had dominated the previous era. Teams quickly discovered that running their cars as low to the ground as possible maximised performance, but this pursuit of speed came at a severe cost.
Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s head of single seater technical matters, admitted the governing body failed to anticipate how aggressively teams would lower their cars. “The fact that the optimal ride height of the cars was so much lower is something we did not foresee with the 2022 regulations,” the Greek engineer explained. “It is something that we missed, but not only ourselves but also the teams.”
The confession reveals a significant blind spot in the regulation drafting process. Despite extensive consultation between the FIA and teams during the rule-making phase, nobody flagged the potential for extreme ride heights and the resulting porpoising phenomenon. By the time the problem became apparent in pre-season testing, the regulations were locked in and teams had no choice but to adapt.
Suspension regulations were not the answer
Some paddock observers suggested that more restrictive suspension rules might have mitigated the worst effects of porpoising, but Tombazis dismissed this notion. The FIA’s analysis concluded that limiting teams’ freedom with suspension design would not have directly addressed the core issue.
“We do not believe that changes to the suspension would have had a direct effect,” Tombazis clarified. “It might have given them some different options, but we don’t think that simplifying the regulations around suspension would have had a direct effect.”
The porpoising problem itself—the violent bouncing that characterised the early 2022 season—has largely been resolved through technical directives and team developments. However, the underlying issue of rock-hard suspension setups and minimal ride heights persists, contributing to ongoing driver discomfort and health concerns across the grid.
Looking ahead to 2026 regulations
The FIA’s candid assessment of its missteps with the current regulations has informed its approach to the 2026 technical rules, which will introduce dramatically different aerodynamic philosophies alongside new power unit regulations. Tombazis expressed confidence that the next generation of cars will not suffer the same problems.
“We believe it is very unlikely that we will see the same characteristics, because the floor is much flatter,” he explained when discussing the 2026 regulations. “The amount of downforce that comes from running the car lower makes less difference with these cars compared to the previous ones.”
The flatter floor design should reduce the performance incentive for teams to run their cars at punishing ride heights, potentially offering drivers a more comfortable working environment. This represents a direct response to the physical toll that Verstappen and his colleagues have endured, though questions remain about whether permanent damage has already been inflicted on drivers who have competed through four seasons of ground effect regulations.
What this means going forward
The FIA’s admission marks a rare moment of public self-reflection from motorsport’s governing body, acknowledging that the current regulatory cycle has extracted an unacceptable physical price from drivers. As teams begin development work on their 2026 challengers, the lessons learned from the porpoising era should translate into machinery that balances performance with driver welfare.
For Verstappen and his fellow drivers, the promise of more forgiving cars in 2026 offers hope that the chronic pain and concerning medical scans might become artefacts of a difficult period in Formula 1 history. Whether the sport has already inflicted lasting damage on those who raced through the ground effect era remains an open question, one that may only be answered in the years ahead as drivers move beyond their competitive careers.
The challenge for the FIA will be ensuring that the 2026 technical regulations deliver on their promise without introducing unforeseen consequences of their own, having learned the hard way that even the most thorough consultation process can miss critical details.
