The rebounds back on the Mercedes: “It’s been three years in a row, we have to fix it”

What is the worst enemy of Mercedes in recent seasons? Is this Red Bull, is this Ferrari ? What if it was… the rebounds? Since 2022 and the introduction of the new technical regulations, the German team has suffered from a problem rooted in all the single-seaters designed in recent seasons: the Silver Arrows are sensitive to rebounds, whether from porpoising (pumping) or tailgating. And the Mercedes W15, despite the change in philosophy in its design, does not seem to escape the rule...

During qualifying for the Saudi Arabian GP on Friday, Lewis Hamilton complained again about this phenomenon on the Corniche route in Jeddah. The Briton, only 8th in Q3, a good distance from the poleman Max Verstappen (and behind his teammate George Russell, 7th on the grid), regretted the return of the rebounds on his Mercedes, as during the last two visits to the Middle East.

“It was similar to previous years. There are so many parts of this car that are better, but we're bothered by the bounce we have, declared the seven-time world champion to British media Sky Sports. We made some changes overnight and this [Friday] morning the car was better. I was getting my confidence back and when we got to qualifying it was gone again. We've tried every setting and can't seem to get rid of it. It is difficult to explain. We had some bounces in Bahrain, but nothing as intense as here. »

Hamilton tired of rebound problems

Lewis Hamilton was already struggling to find confidence in his car Thursday, after the first Free Practices, considering himself lacking confidence with his rear end. If the W15 is a brand new car – with the complications that entails at the start of the season in learning its characteristics – the Briton regrets this problem inherent to Mercedes, while the other teams seem to have gotten rid of this problem for a long time. “If the car bounces, the balance shifts forward and backward and if you do that at 300 km/h you have to correct it every time… We have to fix it. It's been three years in a row, we need to fix it. »

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