The new generation of Formula 1 single-seaters with ground effect has been a headache for some teams due to the great rebound against the ground that is generated at high speed. Mercedes in particular has suffered a lot to control this movement in its radical W13, something that has been seen, in addition to on the track, in the repeated complaints of its drivers, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
The aerodynamic characteristics of the cars have not helped porpoising , as the rules have caused the teams to create very rigid vehicles, something that has been combined with the introduction of a new tire size.
In past seasons, the highest category of motorsport had 13-inch Pirelli at its disposal, but in 2022 they increased to 18, which confers a smaller flank and, therefore, less capacity to absorb the forces that are exerted.
However, the head of the only supplier of tires for the highest category of motorsport, Mario Isola , has two views on the effect of the Pirelli with porpoising in the current Formula 1.
On the one hand, the Italian believes that the growth of the tires has not been a key factor in the rebound: “I think it’s not a question of 18 or 13 inches, it’s something that comes from the single-seaters.”
“But maybe the 13-inch wider sidewall could have made it even worse,” he told Motorsport.com. “Because you have a sidewall that is much bigger and works as a kind of suspension, more than in the current ones.”
“Now the cars are stiffer, and that’s something the teams need to address, I don’t think the 18-inches will make the effects worse, it’s probably the opposite,” insisted Isola.
The FIA is trying to fix the long-term porpoising problem, and it is possible that the rules will be changed for the upcoming 2023 season. In a controversial statement ahead of the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix, the governing body said it was keen to explore ways teams could better control rebound.
Options to achieve this included increasing the height of the cars from the tarmac, reducing the floorboard and removing the spoiler from the edge of the ground, although the engineers believe that the situation could be improved if they were given more possibilities to change the suspensions, which could cause the mass damper to return.
