Since the beginning of the 2022 Formula 1 season, teams have experienced a strange effect that makes cars bounce at high speed on the straights, known as porpoising . Some were more affected by it, while others simply found solutions to reduce the wobbling motion.
One of the most affected by this effect is, without a doubt, Mercedes, who have repeatedly complained through their two drivers, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, and the head of the team, Toto Wolff . At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, his comments went further, stating that the seven-time world champion was “praying to finish the race” and that he could miss the next appointment in Canada.
The FIA, just a few hours before the first free practice sessions began in Montreal, issued a statement giving the instructions that all the teams on the grid must follow in order to try to solve the porpoising . For this reason, the cars will be subjected to various metric studies to learn more about this phenomenon, and the mechanics will have to adjust the height with respect to the ground according to the data they obtain.
However, this modification of the rules may not benefit Mercedes, since being a team that suffers a lot from rebound, they will have to make more adjustments to their car than, for example, Red Bull, who barely accuse it.
Precisely in the garage of the Austrians is someone who has fought against the silver arrows in style, Max Verstappen, who now sees how those from Brackley are barely fighting for podiums.
Before the Canadian Grand Prix he was asked about this mid-season rule change, to which he replied: “I think it’s a bit disappointing to have another rule change in the middle of the year.”
“It’s not that it affects us more or less than other teams, but it shouldn’t be that someone complains a lot and suddenly the rules are changed. If you can’t design the car for that, it’s your fault, not the rules’. It’s a bit embarrassing for me,” the reigning world champion told RACER in the Montreal paddock.
It only remains to be seen how the teams adapt to what the FIA will force them to do if they do not want to receive sanctions, although what will happen to those who do not comply with the ‘anti-porpoising’ indications has not yet been specifically detailed.
