John Watson , a veteran Formula 1 driver who made his debut in the 1973 season and last appeared on the grid at the 1985 European Grand Prix, contesting 20 races and taking five wins in that period, spoke about the recent serious problems that porpoising seems to be causing Lewis Hamilton.
Since the start of the season, even before, since the first winter tests, the seven-time world champion British driver has been critical of the negative phenomenon that the new F1 single-seaters with ground effect have brought back to the top category. .
Despite the fact that the teams quickly focused on solving this problem, Mercedes, which is the team that suffers the most, has not yet managed to find the key and, in the last Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2022, the rebounds were more frequent than ever .
Because of this, Hamilton caught the attention of the cameras after the race in Baku, as the continuous rebounding for 51 laps caused a sore back and left him very sore, as seen on television images when he was trying to get out of his W13 and, later, when he was limping away towards the FIA weigh-in area.
After seeing these images, the 76-year-old five-race F1 winner, John Watson , was quite critical of his compatriot.
“I should be more careful not to pantomime,” John Watson told Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper. “Yes, I think driving Formula 1 cars is very difficult, and at 37 years old your bones are not as ready to deal with the discomfort that comes with it.”
“Lewis has to discover this world for himself. He dominated with Mercedes for seven years, and during all this time he didn’t suffer much. Now George Russell seems to be much better.”
“Maybe I should prioritize things differently, spend less time flying and more time in the gym,” concluded the veteran winner of five grand prix in motorsport’s top flight.
At the moment, Hamilton is in sixth position in the drivers’ championship with a total of 62 points, 37 less than Russell , his current and new teammate, who is fourth in the qualifying table, another factor that seems to be putting the experienced British driver on the ropes this course.
