Having finished P2 in the constructors’ championship last season, Mercedes hoped to build on the momentum. Resurgence was the no. 1 thing on their mind in 2024, and it looked like they were on the right path. However, the return of one of their worst nightmares has disrupted operations at the Brackley-based team. Much to the surprise of the Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, porpoising is back to haunt them.
Hamilton was quoted by X user Deni as he spoke to the media about the same in Saudi Arabia. He claimed Mercedes have tried every setup change possible but to no avail. While there was also some bouncing in Bahrain, Hamilton claimed it was nowhere near as intense as in Jeddah. Hence, the Silver Arrows need to come up with a way of doing away with the issue as soon as possible.
“For example Max [Verstappen] is flat through 6, 7, 8 and the balance is just stable. That’s what we’re working towards. We gotta fix it, three years in a row. We gotta get on top of it.”, said Hamilton.
Mercedes’ low downforce rear wing solution for Jeddah, featuring an interesting cut-out in the centre of the wing
[: @AlbertFabrega] pic.twitter.com/8OqqVlF6Ym
— Mercedes-AMG F1 News (@MercedesNewsUK) March 6, 2024
Most of the porpoising is apparent to the viewers on long straights. Drivers such as Max Verstappen are seemingly glued to the ground when roaring down the straights. However, the situation is much different for the Mercedes drivers.
Their car bounces consistently, disturbing the aerodynamic flow of the car. Furthermore, it stops the drivers from putting the pedal to the metal, as it also becomes a risk. Too much porpoising at high speed could also lead to a severe crash.
No relief for Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton since 2022
Ever since the latest ground effect regulations have come into effect, Mercedes has had a tough time finding the right setup with their car. Lewis Hamilton has suffered the most as he has failed to win a single race since the start of the 2022 season.
The primary reason behind a dismal performance in 2022 was the constant porpoising of his car. It gave way to constant and immense back pains for Hamilton. Things got so bad that there were even chances of him missing the 2022 Canadian GP because of back issues. However, it never came to that.
P7 for George and P8 for Lewis. A frustrating qualifying night in Jeddah pic.twitter.com/chysaVC8f3
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) March 8, 2024
Despite several calls from Hamilton to do away with the 2022 concept in 2023, Mercedes did not listen. They opted to stick with the concept, and it ended up with Mercedes struggling once again. Given the same, the Silver Arrows failed to win even a single race all season for the first time in over a decade.
A new design philosophy in mid-2023 saw Mercedes’ struggles die down a little and allowed them to chase down their competition. However, things are now back to square one, with porpoising once again haunting them.
