With the Formula 1 teams having their first contact with the new generation single-seaters in Barcelona, several were taken by surprise by the porpoising phenomenon that plagued their cars when they reached high speeds on the straights.
Trying to tame this difficulty has been more of a headache for some teams, such as Alfa Romeo, which will not have an adequate solution until the next test in Bahrain.
McLaren, however, has hardly ever encountered this problem, except when it fitted some innovations that seemed to modify its aerodynamic platform, going to trigger it.
McLaren technical director James Key said the Woking team are not completely immune to porpoising, but added that it hasn’t caused too much difficulty.
“We had a couple of pieces that seemed to trigger it a little more,” he said. “But then, by removing them, it shrunk, so it can also be adjusted from an aerodynamic point of view”.
“I think where we are, it hasn’t really been a problem for us so far. But it could come back with further developments, of course. We suffer a little, but it’s not a big concern or a big distraction for the riders.”
Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL36
Photo by: Alessio Morgese
Key also confessed that the team hadn’t designed the car with a view to avoiding this problem, adding that he believes it was quite lucky that its design proved more stable than that of other cars.
“I’d like to say we’ve been super smart, but the reality is this is very difficult to simulate,” explained Key. “It involves the stiffness of the tires and the sway patterns of the car. Because, clearly, if they are in tune with the chassis, then there is a natural frequency.”
“So I don’t think it’s entirely luck. I think the stability of the car plays a role in that a little, and how well the car holds on to the load in various ride height conditions and so on.”
“But I’d be lying if I said it’s something we designed. I think it’s a phenomenon that we will all get used to driving these cars on the track. And hopefully we can iron it out over time, and learn to remove it like any other type of car. problem”.
Key calculated, however, that porpoising could be something that teams will never get rid of completely, and riders may have to live with it on some tracks.
“I think there will probably always be a bit of a ground proximity reaction like that, because they are ground effect cars,” he added. “I think it’s inherent, and that’s why we’re seeing it now. But I think we’re going to learn to manage it.”
“There is still a lot to discover about these cars and a huge amount of things to learn. So I don’t think the phenomenon can be eradicated, because it’s a physical thing. But in terms of management, I think it can become a less relevant problem. after some development work “.
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