After the “limit” of filming days, this week, on the occasion of the pre-season tests in Barcelona, the teams finally had the first opportunity to run their 2022 cars.
In the early days, however, a phenomenon emerged that could turn into a safety problem: porpoising, a hopping of the car that occurs when a certain speed is reached on the straights.
This phenomenon is not unrelated to Formula 1. Indeed, porpoising was already noticed in the early 80s, when the ground effect in Formula 1 was part of the aerodynamic regulations.
On Thursday, Mattia Binotto, Ferrari’s team principal, said the teams had underestimated the impact this phenomenon would have, saying he was confident it would be “simple enough” to resolve.
One of the cars most affected by the porpoising problem, however, would be Mercedes, with the new W13 brought to the track by Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
Just the newcomer has expressed his doubts about this phenomenon …
“I think you can see some pretty substantial problems with the cars in the straights due to porpoising – he says – so this is a compromise we have to find to go faster on the lap. It’s something I don’t think any team has ever experienced before. We are seeing some interesting things out there. “
Russell added that while he “didn’t experience it too much”, it was “not at all pleasant” to hear in the cockpit, and reflected on whether it might affect the safety factor.
“From what I’ve seen of other teams in particular, it could generate a safety issue, which needs to be resolved one way or another, but there are a lot of smart people in this grid, and I’m sure everyone will work hard to solve this problem. “
A solution that some teams have adopted to alleviate the problem is the use of the DRS in different areas of the circuit, reducing downforce with the moving wing open.
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