TD39/22 was introduced ahead of the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix in a bid to alleviate porpoising, amid Mercedes in particular lobbying the FIA to take action, as their W13 was plagued by the phenomenon.

This technical directive saw the FIA formulate an aerodynamic oscillation metric (AOM) which is used to measure how much each car is porpoising/bouncing.

In the event of the FIA deeming a car to be “excessively oscillating”, they had the authority to prevent it from taking part in a grand prix weekend until set-up changes – such as raising the ride height – were made to alleviate the porpoising.

READ: Angela Cullen quickly puts Lewis Hamilton breakup behind her

Following the FIA raising the minimum ride height by 15mm ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season, TD39/22 was reappealed.

In a statement, the FIA has emphasised to Formula1News.co.uk that they communicated their decision to scrap the technical directive with the teams, Formula 1 and Pirelli in a “timely manner.”

They also stressed that the AOM remains in place, “and we are still gathering data from this metric –but as the matter seems under control, it was stated that we will not be applying a limit in the forthcoming period.”

Continuing, the FIA revealed that the Formula 1 grid has been warned that “if the parameter worsened again, we would reintroduce it at very short notice.

“Since everything is already in place, we could restart implementation relatively quickly,” the FIA’s statement continued.

Furthermore, the FIA revealed to Formula1News.co.uk that it plans to make all technical directives – past and present – public “very soon.”

READ: Max Verstappen accused of lying about excuse to avoid Sergio Perez battle

Continuing in this vein, they explained: “To do so we need to eliminate any confidential info and private info.

“This is currently under development so you can expect something in the next few months.

“This will improve the level of access and understanding of technical rules for media and fans in the future.”

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The 38-year-old joined Al-Nassr FC in the Saudi Pro League from Manchester United during the winter transfer window, and it had been reported that he would be attending round two of the 2023 F1 season in Saudi Arabia as part of his lucrative mega-deal with the club.

However, The Sports PR Company – a public relations agency which represents Ronaldo – has told Formula1News.co.uk that he will not attend the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, nor does he have any contractual obligation to do so.

In a statement, Ronaldo’s representatives described the reports of him being forced to attend the grand prix as “entirely false.”

READ: Ferrari boss addresses Charles Leclerc crisis meeting

Earlier on Wednesday, London Insider cited unnamed sources as describing the aforementioned reports as “fake news” and “patently false.”

“It’s fake news. Any notion that Cristiano will be attending the race in Saudi Arabia as part of his deal with Al-Nassr FC is baseless and patently false,” the source insisted.

“He will not be at the grand prix or any related events over the course of the weekend,” they added.

This weekend’s race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit will be Saudi Arabia’s third Formula 1 grand prix in as many years.

The track has attracted criticism in previous years due to the blind nature of some of the high-speed corners and the lack of run-off areas.

The FIA, in coordination with the organisers of the grand prix, have made several changes to the circuit ahead of this year’s race in a bid to improve driver safety.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast this week, Saudi Arabian Grand Prix CEO Martin Whitaker outlined some of these changes.

“The drivers are going to be I think, really quite pleased because obviously the first time they get a chance to have a look will be when they walk around on Thursday,” he said.

“But during the winter months, we’ve again made some quite interesting changes to improve the sight lines.

“So, on five of the corners, we’ve moved the fences back by anything between two and seven metres. So in some places, it’s quite a marked change to the overall look and feel of the circuit.

“Then we’ve also removed the steel plates that we’d put in on the inside of a number of the corners. The concrete barriers are effectively edged to go around a corner, so they have shoulders.

READ: Helmut Marko sends Max Verstappen FIA penalty warning

“So actually the FIA said ‘no, we’re quite happy with those, let’s remove the steel plates’. We’ve removed those from six corners.

“There is a change to one of the corners. The perimeter of the track has not changed apart from in one place, and that is [Turn] 22, 23. That corner has been tightened, so that will make that corner probably 30 kilometres slower.

“So therefore, they will be going on to effectively the back straight or that long curve between 23 and 27, they will be entering that at a slower pace. So it’ll be interesting to see how that works out.”

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Responding to a request for comment by Formula1News.co.uk on Tuesday, the British car-maker emphasised that there has been no change in the ownership of the McLaren Group and repeated a statement it made in mid-November, when separate reports of a sale of the company surfaced.

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“McLaren’s technology strategy has always involved ongoing discussions and collaboration with relevant partners and suppliers, including other carmakers, however, there has been no change in the ownership structure of the McLaren Group,” the car-maker said.

Last week, CarMagazine.co.uk reported that McLaren and Audi were edging closer to a deal, with the Mumtalakat Holding Company – Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund – being eager to sell its majority stake in the loss-making supercar brand.

READ: Binotto on key Ferrari sponsor: ‘We have options on the table’

The same publication also reported that Audi and Porsche are set to enter Formula 1 as engine suppliers in 2026, with the German car companies ostensibly poised to power McLaren and Red Bull.

Red Bull have been powered by Honda since 2019, but the Japanese manufacturer last year announced it would be withdrawing from Formula 1 at the end of the 2021 season.

The Milton Keynes-based outfit was able to negotiate a deal to take over the intellectual property of Honda’s power units, and they will effectively use a re-branded Honda engine in 2022.

McLaren, meanwhile, currently use Mercedes power units, with the British team reuniting with the engine supplier after being powered by Honda and Renault from 2015-2020.

Porsche and Audi are both said to be waiting for the arrangement to receive the greenlight from Volkswagen.

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PETA campaigners sent Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali a dead dog prop and a letter last week, urging him to end Liberty Media’s backing of the event.

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“F1’s sister company CGCI (under parent company Liberty Media) sponsors the deadly race to the tune of more than £180,000 a year,” PETA stressed in a statement sent to Formula1News.co.uk on Friday.

PETA director Elisa Allen has since called on Hamilton to “get involved” in their campaign against the Iditarod.

“Sir Lewis Hamilton and his colleagues are willing participants in races – but the dogs used in the Iditarod have no choice and are made to run until their bodies break down,” Allen told Formula1News.co.uk.

“We know that Hamilton, like all decent people, would be appalled to learn that the leading cause of death for dogs entered into this race is aspiration pneumonia – caused by inhaling their own vomit – and we believe that he will no doubt get involved in this life-saving campaign.”

Animal rights groups, like PETA, have long campaigned against the Iditarod.

Over 150 dogs have been killed as a result of this event since the first race took place almost five decades ago in 1973.

Numerous multi-national corporations, including ExxonMobil and Coca-Cola, recently pulled their sponsorship of the Iditarod.

They decided to withdraw their sponsorship of the event “after seeing video footage of hideously cruel living conditions for survivors of the race,” PETA told this publication.

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More than 150 dogs have been killed as a result of this event since the first race took place in 1973, and animal rights groups have long campaigned against the deadly race.

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“F1’s sister company CGCI (under parent company Liberty Media) sponsors the deadly race to the tune of more than £180,000 a year,” PETA emphasised in a statement sent to Formula1News.co.uk.

As part of its campaign against the event, PETA – an animal rights group founded over four decades ago – sent Domenicali a dead dog prop and a letter “urging him to tell Liberty Media to cut ties with the shameful event.”

This comes after a number of companies, including ExxonMobil and Coca-Cola, pulled their sponsorship of the Iditarod.

READ: Ferrari boss expects Sainz contract negotiations to be ‘easy’

They decided to pull their sponsorship of the event “after seeing video footage of hideously cruel living conditions for survivors of the race,” PETA told Formula1News.co.uk.

“Dogs are forced to run until their bodies break down and they die after inhaling their own vomit in the Iditarod, yet Liberty Media has not yet joined the other big companies who have condemned the race,” said PETA vice president of International Programmes Mimi Bekhechi.

“PETA is calling on Formula 1 to tell its owner to hit the brakes on Iditarod support.”

On an action page on their website, PETA UK drew parallels between Formula 1 drivers and the dogs forced to take part in the Iditarod dog-sled race.

READ: Verstappen vs Vettel – Marko gives verdict on who is ‘without a doubt’ better

“Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, and the other daring Formula 1 (F1) drivers race because they love it, earn fabulous sums of money, and retire when they wish to.

“This is not the case for the poor, often underfed, even beaten dogs used in Alaska’s notorious Iditarod dog-sled race.

“They are chained up outdoors in the ice and snow between races with almost nothing for shelter and have even been killed when they are injured, sick, or too old to win cash for their mushers.”

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Mercedes had a torrid pre-season test in Bahrain, but by the time the season got underway in the same country, the Silver Arrows were much more competitive, though Red Bull seemed to still have a slight pace advantage.

However, over the course of the season, there were several circuits – particularly towards the end of the year – where Mercedes’ 2021 challenger was clearly faster than Red Bull’s RB16B.

Verstappen ultimately triumphed over Hamilton following race director Michael Masi making a controversial decision regarding the Safety Car restart in the season finale in Abu Dhabi which handed the Dutchman the advantage.

READ: Wolff says Hamilton wasn’t cheated out of 2021 championship

Norris has said he believes Mercedes and Hamilton had the faster car in 2021, but Verstappen was able to win his maiden F1 crown by making fewer mistakes and having less bad luck.

“I don’t think he [Verstappen] had a better car throughout the season,” the McLaren driver said.

“Mercedes had the stronger car in most cases, but he had less bad luck and made less mistakes as a driver.”

Hamilton made a number of big mistakes in 2021, such as in Baku, where he cost himself victory after accidentally hitting the “brake magic” button and consequently locking his front tyres in dramatic fashion.

The Brit also made a mistake in Imola, but he was able to recover to P2 after benefitting from a red flag.

Verstappen, meanwhile, made a few key mistakes of his own, such as the recent crash he suffered in qualifying for the 2021 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.

READ: Marko comments on possibility of Verstappen joining Mercedes

Furthermore, despite Norris’ suggestion that Verstappen had less bad luck than Hamilton, the Dutchman had plenty of misfortune, such as his coming-together with his championship rival in Silverstone, a tyre failure while leading the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and him getting rear-ended by an out-of-control Valtteri Bottas in Hungary.

Norris happy for Verstappen

In the same interview, Norris said he is happy for Verstappen following the Red Bull driver winning his maiden F1 title in the curtain-closer in Abu Dhabi.

“I’m happy for him. I congratulate him on what he has done this season,” Norris said.

“He’s taken on Lewis, who is much more experienced and has won many titles.

“He’s [Verstappen] a good friend of mine. I congratulated him first, but then I also went to Lewis because he also had an incredible season and did a lot of things right to become champion. I respect both of them a lot.”

After the late controversy in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen finished the season eight points ahead of Hamilton and more than 200 points ahead of his Red Bull team-mate, Sergio Perez.

Mercedes, meanwhile, claimed their eighth consecutive Constructors’ Championship.

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The Championship protagonists collided after Verstappen was instructed by his race engineer to let Hamilton overtake him, with the seven-time F1 World Champion running into the back of the Dutchman.

Dr Marko initially insisted that Verstappen hadn’t applied the brakes on Hamilton and accused the Brit of misjudging his closing speed on the Red Bull.

“We feel we have been treated unfairly. We are working to prove Max’s braking pressure did not increase when he crashed with Hamilton,” he said.

“Hamilton simply misjudged and drove into Max’s car. Unfortunately, that left two big cuts in our rear tyre. That’s why we couldn’t attack anymore.”

READ: ‘Toto is sorting it’: Hamilton suggests Mercedes could drop controversial sponsor

However, the Austrian has now backed down and admitted that Verstappen did indeed increase the brake pressure just before Hamilton drove into the back of him.

“At the time of the television interview, I passed on exactly the information I had previously received from the engineers,” Dr Marko said in conversation with F1 Insider.

“They obviously weren’t right, so I’m sorry,” the Austrian added.

‘Looking ahead’ to Abu Dhabi

Verstappen and Hamilton will go into the season finale in Abu Dhabi level on points – and some F1 fans have suggested that the Red Bull driver will deliberately crash into Hamilton so neither of them finishes the grand prix, thereby securing him the 2021 crown (as he currently tops the table due to him having more victories than Hamilton.)

Looking ahead to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Dr Marko said they will not “take any unfair actions” and said they are focused on winning the last race of the season.

“Hopefully, the sad chapter of Saudi Arabia has now closed,” the Red Bull advisor said.

“In any case, we are just looking ahead. We want to win in Abu Dhabi and so win the title. We will do everything for this, but we will not take any unfair actions.

“In Saudi Arabia, we already had the pace to keep up with Hamilton. The track in Abu Dhabi should be more accommodating to us.”

‘Hollywood show’ Saudi GP

Following the action-packed and somewhat disjointed inaugural Saudi Arabian GP, 1997 F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve described the race as “rental karting.”

“It wasn’t F1, it was rental karting, everything was wrong. So I’m not sure what to say,” the outspoken ex-F1 racer said in an interview with Motorsport.com.

The Canadian also criticised the manner in which teams lobbied race director Michael Masi during the grand prix.

Villeneuve suggested that Formula 1 is becoming more of a “Hollywood show” under Liberty Media and said the teams’ lobbying of the FIA has become “ridiculous.”

“It’s hard to stay neutral, it’s hard to give a comment on what happened every time and be perceived as being neutral. You will always be perceived as taking sides and that’s when it becomes a bit too much,” he added.

“Do we want sport and good F1? Or do we just want a Hollywood show? If you want a Hollywood show, Sunday was amazing. But is that what F1 is all about?

READ: ‘You didn’t tell me, man’: Hamilton blames Mercedes for Mazepin, Gasly near-misses

“And then when you see the team principals, everyone is shouting and putting pressure even on the marshals and so on. That becomes ridiculous. It really has become ridiculous.

“It was great for the fans, so that probably will increase the viewership which is great for F1. But we are starting to get away from the sport, that’s all. So ultimately, it depends if you are a purist or not,” the 1997 F1 World Champion concluded. 

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That’s according to ex-F1 driver Marc Surer, who believes Verstappen’s defence against the seven-time World Champion was fair racing.

Speaking to Formula1News.co.uk on Thursday, Surer said: “I think it was on the limit, what Max did.

“He didn’t want to give it up, he hit the brakes too late and he didn’t make the corner. As simple as that.”

The stewards decided not to investigate the incident let alone penalise Verstappen during the race, while onboard footage from his Red Bull wasn’t available.

The footage was eventually released, and Mercedes subsequently decided to launch an appeal against the stewards’ decision.

READ: Alonso Downplays Hamilton’s Stellar Performance In Brazil

However, Surer believes the onboard footage confirms that Verstappen did nothing wrong, as he didn’t reduce his steering angle once cornering to force Hamilton wide.

“I also looked at the onboard camera on Max’s car and I can’t see any steering against Lewis, so that means the appeal/review doesn’t really have a chance in my opinion, because if two drivers go into a corner and no one gives in, they go straight, of course, and that’s what happened.”

Despite Verstappen using the manoeuvre to maintain the lead of the race, Hamilton did eventually use the pace advantage of his Mercedes to overtake the Dutchman and he went on to comfortably win the grand prix.

Heading into the final three grand prix of the season, Verstappen has a 14-point lead at the summit of the Drivers’ Standings.

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The Frenchman has been in exceptional form ever since he returned to Red Bull’s junior outfit in mid-2019, however, he has once again been overlooked by the Milton Keynes-based team.

READ: Lewis Hamilton Unhappy With ‘Massive Bump’ At Eau Rouge

Earlier this month, Gasly said he wants to be in the most competitive car possible, but he acknowledged that his future was ultimately in Red Bull’s hands.

“A driver always wants to be behind the wheel of the best possible car. I think at AlphaTauri they want a leader to try and really grow the team and I think there is a good relationship between me and them,” Gasly said. 

“At the end of the day I just want to do well, weekend after weekend, race after race, and show my potential.

“My future is in the hands of Red Bull. If they want me, or if they are satisfied with the current driver team.

“Or maybe it depends on how Sergio is doing and how they see the future with AlphaTauri.

“We are discussing a lot of things. Everything is going well, but at the moment there is no answer. I expect to get more answers in the coming weeks.”

READ: ‘Maybe I Know Something, Maybe I Don’t’: Bottas Tight-Lipped On Mercedes Future

Reacting to Red Bull’s decision to overlook Gasly and retain Perez for 2022, Surer told this publication that Dr Helmut Marko, head of the team’s driver programme, “must have a good reason” for not giving the Frenchman another chance.

“Marko must have a good reason [for extending Perez’s contract], but it is not the speed of Perez,” the ex-F1 racer told Formula1News.co.uk.

“Just look at the result of yesterday: in both sessions Gasly was in front of him.”

Continuing, Surer said he believes Gasly should evaluate his options and look for a move away from Red Bull and its sister team.

“If Gasly gets an offer, he should take it,” he added.

Analysis: Did Red Bull Make The Right Call?

It is fair to say that Perez hasn’t quite lived up to his pre-season expectations.

He was never expected to match Max Verstappen in qualifying, but on a number of occasions he has trailed his younger team-mate by over half-a-second.

And, while he has been closer to Verstappen on race day, Perez has only scored two podiums so far this campaign, including his grand prix victory in Baku.

However, he has generally looked more comfortable in the car than his predecessors – namely Alex Albon and Gasly.

READ: ‘He Deserves More’: Verstappen & Leclerc Praise Russell As Mercedes Mull Driver Line-Up

Furthermore, it’s likely that Red Bull want stability going into 2022, when sweeping regulation changes will come into effect, and there’s a good chance Perez will close the gap to Verstappen as he gets more grand prix weekends under his belt.

But, for many F1 fans, it remains difficult to understand why Red Bull didn’t decide to give Gasly another chance, given his fantastic form and consistency this season, coupled with his standout performances last year.

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Perez joined the Milton Keynes-based team from Racing Point at the end of 2020, after the outfit – now rebranded Aston Martin Racing – decided to axe him to make room for Sebastian Vettel.

Despite already winning a race with Red Bull – something Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly failed to do – the Mexican hasn’t exactly lived up to his pre-season expectations, with him rarely being able to get close to Max Verstappen’s raw pace. 

Perez’s new contract comes as a blow to Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, as they will now have to wait at least another year-and-a-half for an opportunity to drive for Red Bull.

Announcing his fresh Red Bull deal, Perez said: “I’m really happy to be continuing with a great team like Red Bull into the new era of Formula One and it’s a great opportunity for me.

“Everyone starts from zero next year with the new regulations, so my only goal is to go all the way to the top with Red Bull.

“It always takes time to get on top of everything when you join a new team but things have worked well this season and I really enjoy being a part of the Red Bull family.

“We’ve been working hard to deliver results so it’s great to see the team have faith in me for the future. We have so much more to achieve together and we still have a great challenge on our hands this season, so I really hope we can finish the year on a high and carry that momentum into 2022.

“I want to thank all my supporters around the world and especially those in Mexico. From my sponsors to my fans, they have been so enthusiastic since I joined Red Bull so I really hope we can reward them by reaching the top and winning the title.”

Meanwhile, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner described Perez as a “highly respected team member” and said “his experience and race-craft are invaluable as we fight for the Constructors’ Championship.”

Continuing, he said: “His integration into the wider team has been seamless and we have been impressed by his performances during the first half of the season which demonstrate what he’s capable of in our car.

“Next year we move into a new era of Formula One with completely revised regulations and cars, and with over 200 races and a decade of experience under his belt, Checo will play an integral role in helping the team navigate this transition and maximise the RB18.

“Our current attention is on ending the 2021 season as strongly as possible and we look forward to seeing Checo build on a first successful season with the team.”

Red Bull are currently 12 points adrift of Mercedes at the summit of the Constructors’ Standings, and they’ll be looking to claw their way back to the top this weekend in Belgium. 

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