Formula 1 drivers have raised concerns over the possible long-term effects of the porpoising many of them are suffering in their cars this year.
Eight races into the season, several teams are still experiencing the phenomenon. It has arisen due to the different approaches they have taken to the new technical regulations introduced for 2022 which allowed teams to generate more downforce using their cars’ floors.
The severity of the problem varies from team to team. Some largely avoid it, others encounter it but are still able to race competitively, while others find it restricts their performance.
The severity of the porpoising also differs from track to track. Baku’s long and bumpy straights have made the problem especially severe for some teams: Mick Schumacher even suffered a water leak which caused a stoppage during first practice.
Carlos Sainz Jnr said he “suffered a lot with this” in his Ferrari on Friday, while team mate Charles Leclerc did not. “I had for some reason a car, or a floor, that was porpoising and bottoming a lot more than the other car with the same set-up,” said Sainz.
“It was for some reason very, very painful and there was a bit of chaos in the car going on. But I saw there’s also others struggling around this track.”
Drivers raised concerns over the effects porpoising is having on them during Friday’s meeting with FIA F1 race director Niels Wittich. “It got to a point where in the drivers’ briefing we all looked at each other and said ‘we need to do something’,” Sainz recounted.
“Because it’s okay one race, but can we do 10 more years like this? I doubt it.
“We kindly asked the FIA to look into it, to don’t, let’s say, listen to the teams too much and to listen to us [instead], that we were saying that it’s getting to a point where we are struggling, all of us, to handle this.”
Along with the aerodynamic changes to the cars, teams were also…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…