Aston Martin wants ‘equitable’ u-turn over F1 floor rule changes

Aston Martin team principal and CEO Otmar Szafnauer wants Formula 1 to reverse the floor changes introduced for the 2021 season.

The rebranded Silverstone-based outfit believes F1’s new aero rules have significantly cost low-rake cars including its own AMR21 and Mercedes’ W12 by around one second per lap of performance compared to teams running a high-rake philosophy.

Szafnauer has not hidden his disappointment at the changes and even suggested that the rules were introduced in a bid to improve the show, rather than to reduce downforce due to safety concerns as originally stated.

Speaking to Sky Sports on Friday ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Szafnauer called for a u-turn on the regulations during the current F1 campaign.

“I think the right thing to do is have the discussions with the FIA and find out exactly what happened and why, and then see if there's something that could be done to make it more equitable,” he said.

“I think that's the right thing to do. We as a team have to work hard to try and claw back everything we can but at the same time, we should be having these discussions with the FIA to see if anything can be done to make it a bit more equitable.”

Asked if it would be possible for a team to pursue legal action against the FIA, Szafnauer replied: “I think we get to that point after the discussions. It's hard to predict. I think the right thing to do is to see what can be done.”

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff conceded his side has definitely taken a “hit” as a result of the rule changes but stopped short of supporting Szafnauer’s viewpoint.

“I think this is a tricky subject because you need to have the full picture before making any comments,” he explained.

“At that stage, I don’t think it would be right to point the finger at someone or somebody. I’d rather not comment about it for the time being.

“I don’t know what you can ask for at that stage of the season. I think we just need to do leave it at that and say where’s that all going.”