Mercedes’ George Russell wants a return of banned technology to counter the ‘porpoising’ problems faced by the 2022 F1 cars.
The first pre-season testing of 2022 in Barcelona introduced F1 fans to a new word. The term ‘porpoising‘ was used to describe Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, as it was bouncing up and down, when going flat out on the straights.
As F1 enters a new era, the way the cars are designed have been drastically altered. Most of the downforce is generated by the airflow under the car. As a result, the cars are pulled towards the ground when at higher speeds. This leads to the cars bouncing, or ‘porpoising’ down the straights.
This is a problem that almost all F1 teams had to encounter during testing. McLaren on the other hand, didn’t face these issues. The Surrey based outfit however, insist they have ‘no clear explanation’ as to why they didn’t.
George Russell, who joined Mercedes ahead of the upcoming campaign, expects this to be serious problem. He is wary of the fact that it could be a safety concern when drivers go flat out.
“I think it has the potential to be a real safety concern if it gets out of control,” said Russell. “If you’re flat out down the straight and it starts to happen, you don’t want to back off in a race scenario.”
Also read: Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto contradicts Lewis Hamilton over latter’s Barcelona testing statement
Active suspension must be brought back to Formula 1, says George Russell
Active suspension was a feature most F1 teams used till the 1993 season. Among many things, it allowed them to change the configuration of their cars’ height. However, ahead of the 1994 season, it’s use became illegal and it hasn’t made a return to the sport ever since.
Russell feels that having active suspension back today, would solve the porpoising issues instantly. He also added that the cars would be a lot faster, something which every driver and team would prefer.
The 23-year old admitted that the solution he presented will likely not be followed. He remains confident that ahead of the next pre-season test in Bahrain, all teams will come up with an answer to these issues.
“I guess if active suspension was there that could be solved with the click of your fingers,” the Mercedes driver said. “The cars would naturally be a hell of a lot faster if we had that. And I’m sure all the teams are capable of that. That could be one for the future.
“But let’s see in Bahrain. I’m sure the teams will come up with some smart ideas around this issue,” he added.
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