Horner: No issues or concerns on our floor

What started as an FIA Technical Directive (TD) to clamp down on the violent vertical oscillations or 'bouncing' some of the 2022 Formula 1 cars were exhibiting, turned into a war between teams, namely Mercedes and Red Bull, about the legality of their cars.

As the FIA moved on with their (TD), it appeared that some teams have interpreted the rules in a manner that is not in line with their intent, specifically in the region of the car underbody plank, a subject GrandPrix247's Mark Kay detailed in his latest Tech Draft.

Mercedes are one of the most teams struggling with the 'bouncing', while Red Bull had no issues with their cars, as they, along with Ferrari, reportedly are among the teams with questionable underbody planks.

The FIA Formula 1 Commission held a meeting at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg on Friday, and a decision was taken to delay the implementation of the new TD up until the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa.

The FIA said in a statement: "There was a discussion regarding the draft Technical Directive that addresses safety concerns relating to the vertical oscillation of the cars (also referred to as porpoising).

"Following feedback and consultation with the teams and in order to allow the teams to make necessary updates to the plank and skid assemblies, which will ensure a fair application of the metric used to measure this oscillation across all cars, the implementation of the draft Technical Directive issued to the teams prior to the British Grand Prix will come into effect from the Belgian Grand Prix," F1's governing body explained.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 in Austria, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff accused "some teams" of running illegal flexing floors.

"I think so," he said when asked if some teams are bending the rules. "I haven't been able to squeeze the skids of certain teams. We're looking at our competitors.

"And probably, I would have wished that the TD comes in a little bit earlier, but it is what it is. So in Spa we won't see that anymore," he added.

Faced by Sky Sports with what his counterpart said, Horner responded: "Total, total rubbish. The floor… I think we’re getting issues mixed up here.”

Quizzed if their are any problems with the RB18's floor, Horner replied: "No, zero.

"I mean, I don’t know. Maybe he’s referring to… I don’t know, cars that are around him at the moment. I’ve no idea but absolutely no issues or concerns on our floor," he insisted.

"The technical directive is obviously focused on the bouncing or porpoising which only certain cars have struggled with," he explained. "It is due for further discussion in the technical working group which is the correct forum for it.

"As we saw at Silverstone, no cars were really affected by it so the argument being: Is it the duty of the competitor of ensuring the car is safe or is it the duty of the FIA to ensure that a competitor runs their car safely?" the Red Bull boss questioned.