F1 squads were caught on the hop in the first pre-season test at Barcelona in Spain last week with the way the new ground effect cars bounced down the straights.
It was caused by a return of the ‘porpoising’ phenomenon that was experienced in the early 1980s ground effect era.
The cycle is triggered at high speed when the cars are pushed down towards the track by the increased aero loads on the straight, before the airflow stalls and then the car rises up again as the downforce is lost.
McLaren was the team that suffered the least from the problem, as it was suggested its advanced floor design helped to minimise the chances of the airflow stalling as the car was pushed down near the track surface.
The team’s technical director James Key thinks that getting on top of the issue is combination of setup and aero concept – and he reckons it will not take long for everybody to understand what is needed to keep the situation under control.
“I think there’s several factors…
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