F1 News

George Russell balks that his car bounced at Spa-Francorchamps

Bouncing back at Mercedes: 'It’s a shame that this is possible in F1'

2 August 2023 at 07:34
Last update 2 August 2023 at 08:34
  • GPblog.com

Mercedes driver George Russell complained about his car bouncing after the Belgian Grand Prix. The ailment that previously troubled Mercedes a lot was at least temporarily back. The Briton finds it disappointing that this can happen in the pinnacle of motorsport, he revealed during a press meeting with GPblog and others.

'Porpoising'. Due to the ground effect of Formula 1 cars, the cars bounce on the straights. Not only is it uncomfortable for the drivers, but it also decreases their speed. Mercedes suffered greatly from it in 2022. The team complained repeatedly and wanted the FIA to intervene to adjust the technical regulations.

Porpoising at Mercedes

So for those who seemed to have forgotten the phenomenon, it now seems to have returned (for a while), according to Russell. "We suffered with a huge amount of bouncing today. A number of teams did, maybe not as severe as we did." According to the one time race winner, this really shouldn't happen:"It's still obviously a bit of a shame to see that, as a sport at the pinnacle, the majority of teams are still struggling with bouncing," he noted. "I hope something can be solved in that regard in the future."