Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was satisfied with his team’s showing in first practice on the streets of Monaco, despite the W13 suffering from chronic bouncing.
Wolff believes Mercedes are set for a competitive showing this weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix despite an apparent return to the bouncing problems that have afflicted the W13 for most of the season.
George Russell led the charge for the Brackley-based team as he finished FP1 in eighth, 0.680 seconds slower than Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc managed as the fastest time. Lewis Hamilton was a further three tenths of a second back as he placed 10th at the chequered flag.
Hamilton had visibly struggled with the handling of his car throughout, complaining about an intense level of bouncing that hampered his session.
But unlike the ground effect-based porpoising that has been prevalent since the start of the season, Wolff explained the bouncing is linked more to ride height rather than being a symptom of the team’s aerodynamic deficiencies returning.
“I think we have a ride issue,” he told Sky Sports F1 after first practice.
“It’s something we’ve had through the season and on the bouncing, sometimes it’s a combination between aero and stiffness. Today, it’s the stiffness.”
As a result, Wolff was pleased with the pace shown on track considering the level of bouncing.
“It looks like our car performs because we were quick,” he said.
“Maybe not at the end when we were on the hard tyres and doing the long runs but overall I think it’s a good car. It’s just undriveable like this.”
Tricky opening session to our #MonacoGP weekend.
P8 and P10 for George and Lewis, battling with bouncing around the bumpy Monte Carlo streets. pic.twitter.com/wWJWlOroWK
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) May 27, 2022
Wolff said plenty of work will be done to rectify the issue throughout the weekend and that plenty of padding can be given to the drivers to cope with the physical nature of the…
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