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This took me out
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This took me out
The F1 2022 season had completely new technical rules. That meant completely new car designs. One of the unexpected side-effects of these new rules was that it caused some of the cars to "porpoise" on the long straights... the car would bounce like a porpoise at high speeds. That makes it very uncomfortable... and painful for the drivers. Some teams were able to solve this, or at least, minimize this bouncing... but Merc were not able to do so. They've been trying to figure it out, but haven't found any solutions. As I understand it, they can change the setup of the car to reduce it, but at the cost of performance. For some reason, perhaps in their setups, Lewis is suffering more than George. Merc have also stated that they're trying different solutions, hence why their cars are different.Someone explain this to me like I’m 5 years old….
What happened to Lewis Hamilton?
The F1 2022 season had completely new technical rules. That mean completely new car designs. One of the unexpected side-effects of these new rules was that it caused some of the cars to "porpoise" on the long straights... the car would bounce like a porpoise at high speeds. That makes it very uncomfortable... and painful for the drivers. Some teams were able to solve this, or at least, minimize this bouncing... but Merc were not able to do so. They've been trying to figure it out, but haven't found any solutions. As I understand it, they can change the setup of the car to reduce it, but at the cost of performance. For some reason, perhaps in their setups, Lewis is suffering more than George. Merc have also stated that they're trying different solutions, hence why their cars are different.
Anyway, Baku has a HUGE straight where the bouncing was pretty extreme. After a full race weekend, it took it's toll on Lewis.
Hard to say... Could be a variety of reasons. Maybe Lewis is being used to test different setups, hence it might be 'handicapping' him vs George. Or maybe the current Merc just suits George's driving style more. We've seen something like this at RBR, where the car just works better with Max's driving style... as well as McLaren for Lando. Does that mean Lando/George is better than Daniel/Lewis? Of course not... but driving style and a car suiting one driver over another is definitely a thing that can happen.
Porpoising is nothing new and has been in motorsports for decades. It's just the laws of physics, aerodynamics, etc. It just happens more on cars which rely on generating downforce from their floors. I'm told it happens a lot in Indycar as well as endurance sports cars. It's an issue for F1 now cuz of the new regulations. I don't think they can ever stop it... but can minimize it. Like the RBR and Ferrari... both porpoise on the straights... it's just not as extreme as the Merc and is more under control as soon as the car slows down.
---- VinMillerHearn58it’s time to officially chalk up Merc’s season as a total L. Porpoising is back, falling down the grid from FP1 to FP2. The W13 is a dud.
Looks like the FIA will be issuing a technical directive on this.
Some background first, for those interested.
This isn't the lifeline Merc was looking for.
Now they're gonna be forced to increase ride height, causing lost lap time.
And Ferrari will be as well…meaning Red Bull has no competition for the rest of the season
Braking zone into T10... get some glowing-brakes pics from the support races!
It's SO GOOD to be back here.