The Formula 1 teams got acquainted with the new ground-effect single-seaters during the Barcelona test session, but during the three days a phenomenon that had not emerged in the simulator surfaced: porpoising.
Many cars have suffered from excessive bounce on straights resulting from the new ground effect concept of cars.
Few teams have been able to immediately find a solution to the problem, however getting rid of porpoising without compromising performance could prove to be rather complicated and the drivers could be forced, at least at the beginning, to have to live with this phenomenon.
Already this week in Bahrain, when the second and final pre-season test session kicks off, the drivers will be able to have a clearer idea about the solutions adopted by the teams. Carlos Sainz jr. he hopes that Ferrari can find a remedy soon.
“It’s not a good feeling, especially if you think that going to 300 km / h we find ourselves jumping up and down like crazy 30-40 mm. It’s annoying, but I hope it can be resolved and that the riders don’t have to live with this phenomenon ”.
“You have to trust the engineer and all the team members. The solutions will come as we get to know these new single-seaters “.
Another team that suffered a lot from porpoising was Alfa Romeo Sabuer and Valtteri Bottas admitted how the jolts affected his vision when approaching corners.
“I would say it affects everything a little. Certainly when it happens it is not pleasant because visually everything becomes a bit more complicated and you also lose aerodynamic load because the level of downforce changes and can also affect braking ”.
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo C42
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“Obviously, if this problem persists, there could be concerns about the reliability of some components. I think it was something unexpected for all the teams and each team is studying to understand how to solve the problem and how to optimize the set-up. It is a challenge for everyone ”.
Pierre Gasly underlined a further aspect. According to the French AlphaTauri, in some circumstances, especially when the tire pressure is lower, the greater proximity of the cars to the asphalt could lead to the return of porpoising.
“It sure isn’t pleasant. The first time it occurred it was shocking because we didn’t expect it. In any case, it is only a question of finding a way around the problem ”.
“However, we know that in some circumstances, such as the neutralization of the race with the safety car, the phenomenon could recur and it could become a problem in the race”.
“We will have to think about these situations too, but at the moment our effort must be concentrated on development because I believe that we can extract further potential from our car and some teams have managed to manage the problem better than others”.
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