The new era of Formula 1 meant a radical change in the regulations for the 2022 season, with the sole objective of making the single-seaters more spectacular on the track.
Since the winter tests, the teams have been investigating the behavior of the cars on the Barcelona-Catalunya track, and there they discovered something that was going to completely change the focus of this course.
On the main straight of the Catalan circuit, the new cars with ground effect, which returned to the Great Circus after it was banned in the 1980s for safety reasons, experienced a rebound movement when they reached their maximum speed, the well-known porpoising .
Some teams suffered more than others, such as Ferrari, who starred in a grotesque image with Charles Leclerc bobbing his head up and down uncontrollably as he searched for the braking reference point.
In the second week of testing, many managed to resolve part of this, but the vast majority continued to suffer from porpoising , such as Mercedes, which has gone from being the rival to beating a mid-table group that fights to be the best of the rest. .
With the passing of the grands prix, the bounce effect has waxed and waned for different teams as they have introduced updates, and the Australian test was a turning point where porpoising could be further investigated.
Ferrari dominated at Albert Park despite their F1-75 still having this movement on the straights, but Mercedes’ W13 is not able to achieve the desired performance due to this effect.
What makes the Italians win while the Germans suffer without solution?
The main difference is that the Silver Arrows suffer from porpoising from a lower speed than the Maranello ones, so they must raise the height of their car, which translates into less downforce in the corners, in addition to subtract lead in the sections with full throttle.
Thus, the rebound effect is not the main problem for Mercedes, but rather the amount of downforce that they are able to put on their car to balance the annoying porpoising that leaves Lewis Hamilton and George Russell without visibility.
Looking for the reason for this, there is a technical aspect that stands out, and it is none other than the arrangement of the elements in each Formula 1 car. The teams powered by the German manufacturer, Mercedes , McLaren, Aston Martin and Williams are far from the race pace of the leaders, and reviewing the data it can be seen that the average loss on the straights is one and a half tenths per lap.
So it’s not the power unit that’s the main problem at Brackley, it’s the aerodynamics. This theory is further reinforced by the figures of those who have a German gearbox , since the length of this element in Mercedes, Aston Martin and Williams cars causes the Venturi tunnels and the bottom air intakes to start further back than other cars.
This maximizes the distance between the tires and the sidepods, which should balance the car’s aerodynamics, as well as the wheelbase, which is key in Formula 1 in 2022.
To stay within the limits, Ferrari and Haas, who share engine and gearbox, have sidepods further forward, so some of their cooling comes from there, and allows the bodywork in the rear section to finish earlier, in a more stylized way.
Red Bull and AlphaTauri follow the line of those of Maranello, with a transmission that allows a design that benefits avoiding porpoising.
A wider car at the rear could contribute to bottom flow restriction, making the Venturi tunnels more resistant to leaks, but the center of gravity of the car must be taken into account when studying the rebound effect. .
A shorter gearbox can put the center of gravity in an awkward position relative to the bottom of the car, but that’s just guesswork for the engineers to work out.
Formula 1 is a category where the best minds in the automotive scene meet, and it would not be unusual for them to find completely radical solutions in a short period of time.
