At Imola, porpoising physically exhausted Russell

The technical revolution of this new season has seen a common problem appear among the majority of stables: porpoising. “ On long straights, the car may tend to bounce and skip, former pilot Philippe Alliot recently explained to us. For what ? Because the ground effect is so important, that the car, sucked into the ground, is in effect suction. To a certain point, where the car is so low that ground effect completely disappears. The car therefore begins to bounce naturally, through an oscillating movement at the rear suspension. »

Since its appearance during the Barcelona tests in February until the last Grand Prix contested at Imola, the problem has more or less been resolved by the teams even if some continue to suffer from it, like Mercedes. In Australia and more recently in Italy, the W13s of the German team were victims for a long time and this was even visible to the naked eye on television as they bounced on the start/finish line (see video below ). Ultimately, the Silver Arrows pilots ended up exhausted.

 

 

 

 

 

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« The rebounds… it takes your breath away, recognized an exhausted George Russell on Italian lands. I had never felt something so extreme (with porpoise). I hope we can find a solution because this is not viable for us (pilots) to continue like this. »

Victim of the pronounced porpoising of his Flèche d'Argent, the teammate of Lewis Hamilton also admitted to having had pain linked to this phenomenon in question. “ This is the first time I really suffered from my back and had chest pain., continues George Russell. But this is what we have to endure to achieve the best times. » Despite these uncontrollable rebounds, the Englishman achieved an encouraging 4th place starting 11th for him and for Mercedes which is progressing very slowly at the start of the season.

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