To a greater or lesser extent, Formula 1 teams have suffered from porpoising with the new 2022 era cars, which are running as close to the tarmac as possible to maximize ground effect performance.
Therefore, the handling of today’s single-seaters is extremely stiff, causing many drivers to constantly bottom out on the straights.
The problem has been accentuated in Baku, where many teams have suffered from this rebound effect on the 2.2km straight. And due to the high-speed nature of the street circuit, drivers have raised concerns.
Has the phenomenon become a security hazard , rather than just an annoying inconvenience? Would it be okay for them to continue to deal with the problem for years to come?
At the drivers’ briefing on Friday night, there was discussion of whether teams should fix the problem themselves or whether the FIA should step in and make certain adjustments effective for health and safety reasons.
George Russell, whose Mercedes team is one of the worst offenders with porpoising, believes it is “only a matter of time before we see a major incident” when the problem manifests itself on high-speed circuits.
“I think it’s only a matter of time before we see a major incident,” he said after qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
“A lot of us can barely keep the car straight over these bumps, we’re doing the last two corners at 300kph, bottoming out, you can see with the naked eye on the tarmac how close the cars are to the ground.
“Even Formula 2 is in the same position, they have a similar kind of philosophy. And it’s kind of unnecessary with the technology we have in today’s environment. I find it unnecessary for a Formula 1 car to run faster than 200 miles per hour, millimeters from the ground.
Russell said F1 needed to rethink the current technical regulations, although he argued Mercedes was “not massively in favor” of the adjustments as it would interfere with the team’s attempt to catch up with Red Bull and Ferrari.
“It’s a recipe for disaster. So yeah, I don’t really know what the future holds. But I don’t think we can put up with this for three years or as long as this regulation lasts,” he explained.
“For what it’s worth, we’re not that massively in favor as a team, because every race we do, we’re learning more and more about the car. Any change is going to limit that learning.
“I think the top three teams are in the same position, [Mercedes,] Ferrari and Red Bull. Ferrari probably more than Red Bull as you can clearly see they are really struggling with it and no one is doing it to improve performance. It’s for security reasons.”
“I can barely see the braking zone because I’m bouncing around a lot and you get to the last corner, you have walls on both sides going 200mph, and the car is bouncing off the ground.
“It’s not a very comfortable position to be in, so as a group we have to rethink it a little bit. It’s definitely dangerous.”