George Russell suggests new car porpoising a "safety concern"

Mercedes

Russell suggests new car porpoising a "safety concern"

Cars are bouncing down straights under the new aerodynamic regulations

Ewan Gale

Thursday 24 February 2022 19:07

George Russell has insisted a solution must be found to the "substantial" issues caused by F1's new generation of cars 'porpoising' in a straight line which he feels is a "safety concern".

The new rules introduced this season in an attempt to create overtaking opportunities by allowing cars to follow closely to one another have seen the reintroduction of ground-effect aerodynamics to the sport.

This has resulted in the return of 'porpoising', a phenomenon last experienced in F1 during the original ground-effect era in the early 1980s, where the difference in air pressure above and underneath the car creates intermittent aero stalling and in turn a bouncing motion.

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Speaking after completing 66 laps during the afternoon on day two of testing in Barcelona, Russell said: "This is really intriguing, this test.

"Obviously with a new car, new tyres, a different dynamic out there, you could see substantial issues with the cars on the straights and a bottoming.

"There is a compromise we need to find to go quickest around the lap and I don't think it is something any of the teams would have experienced before but we are seeing some interesting things out there.

"That is what testing is for. Some teams are looking pretty fast - a red team and an orange team, in particular, look very, very competitive.

"Let's see what tomorrow brings and what we can do between this test and Bahrain."

On how bad the 'porpoising' was for Mercedes, Russell added: "We didn't experience it too much between one thing and the other, but it is not too pleasant at all.

"From what I have seen from other teams, in particular, it would be a safety concern so that does need to be sorted one way or another.

"But there is a lot of intelligent people up and down this grid so I am sure everyone will get on top of it sooner or later."