Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says the team has already solved the aerodynamic problem of porpoising in Barcelona, and that what is causing the drivers' complaints now is actually the stiffness of the cars
The scene of Lewis Hamilton getting out of his car after a painful Azerbaijan GP was a remarkable one. The problems with the Mercedes' kicks became more pronounced in Baku and made the seven-time champion suffer, starting a string of complaints from drivers including George Russell, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon about the problem. The International Automobile Federation announced last Thursday (16) that it plans measures to limit the oscillation of the cars.
The porpoising started to appear already in the pre-season tests. The phenomenon is due to the ground effect, which is now allowed again with the new Formula 1 regulations. Some teams claimed to have solved the problem early, and now it was Mercedes' turn to surprise and reveal that it has already found a way to avoid porpoising, even after the difficulties in Azerbaijan. Toto Wolff, the German team boss, claimed that the aerodynamic challenge has been solved, and that the reason the quiques are still present is the stiffness of the cars.
"I think in a way we've dissected what we define as porpoising or quiques, and the porpoising, which is the aerodynamic movement of the car, I think that's solved, we were able to solve that in Barcelona. The design of the cars is really what causes the comments from the drivers. The cars are simply too stiff. Riding on the zebras is bad, going through irregularities is bad, and I would say that now, dissecting this problem, we can solve it more easily," explained the Austrian manager.
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"What we see in the cars is that they are very stiff. When you look at slow-motion footage of the two main cars and the Alpines, you see that they are rattling on the zebras in a very strong way. This is what the drivers really complained about, the stiffness of the car. This is something we need to look at: how we can reduce this impact. And of course, the smoother the track, the better. The smaller the barriers are, the less we will see this phenomenon," Toto commented.
In Barcelona, Mercedes had fewer problems and came closer to Red Bull and Ferrari. After three races on more hilly circuits, the British GP at Silverstone can put the German team back into contention. The team's focus now is on being able to generate more aerodynamic pressure with a car higher above the ground.
"I think we just need to put more aerodynamic load on the car, more downforce, and do that with a car that is not as low as we hoped. We have a clear direction, we can see the other cars higher. And that's how we need to find the performance," Wolff concluded.