The new generation of F1 cars for 2022 saw the return of ground effect, which meant cars would run as low as possible relative to the tarmac.
The unwanted consequence, but which also arrived as soon as the pre-season tests started, was porpoising or porpoise, which can be seen in action when they reach high speeds, and which has affected most of the teams.
At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, the problem reached a new level, with several drivers reporting back pain due to the bouncing of their cars, especially at the end of the long finish straight.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton said he was “hanging in there and gritting my teeth because of the pain” in the race, while team boss Toto Wolff said F1 needed to find a solution to prevent potential injuries, all between fears that it could force drivers to skip races.
Pierre Gasly crossed the finish line fifth in Baku, recording his best result of the season so far, but admitted he had never faced such a “brutal” race throughout his Formula 1 career.
“It’s not healthy, that’s clear,” the Frenchman said. “I’ve had a physical therapy session before and after each session, because my [vertebral] discs are sore. You literally have no suspension. It’s just bumps going up your spine.”
“The team asks me: ‘Okay, can we compromise the set-up?’ and I compromise my health for performance. And I always will, because I’m a driver and I always go for the fastest car I can. But I don’t think the FIA should put us in a bind where you have to trade between health and performance”.
Lewis Hamilton after getting out of the car in Baku
“That’s the tricky part, and it’s clearly not sustainable. So that’s what we discussed at the drivers’ briefing and alerted them to this issue, and tried to ask them to come up with solutions to prevent us from ending up with a cane at 30. years”.
Hamilton said after the race in Baku that the porpoising was so severe that he feared losing control of his car due to rebound, while team-mate George Russell said he sometimes struggled to get to the braking points.
Gasly acknowledged that he could see the impact this porpoise was having on the car, as the mirrors were “shaking like hell” which meant visibility was “really poor”.
“Also, sometimes the car moves on its own, simply because the steering shakes,” said the AlphaTauri driver.
“At such speed, it’s not easy. I don’t think they can fix anything until the end of the year. But I hope [it does get fixed] by next year.”
