‘Formula 1 should learn from NFL,’ Fans fume over worsening porpoising issues in Baku
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Baku porpoising causing critical damage to the drivers
Baku’s street is one of the fastest tracks in terms of a speed trap in the calendar of a Formula 1 season. With a complete start from turn 20 to turn 1, cars reach their maximum speed on the go until hard braking in the first cut. Each year many cars fail to brake on-site and lock up in the run-off area. This season the situation is entirely opposite, with the new 2022 Aero specifications, the new-gen car has been encountering a unique ground effect condition making it bounce on the straights stopping the drivers from reaching their maximum potential.
Porpoising is a ground effect that makes the car bounce up and down when on straights, as a result, to control the car before the turn drivers tend to brake too early, ultimately losing a huge amount of time. Mercedes, an 8-time constructor champion best explains the question, “how can porpoising affect the performance of the car?”. With still the fastest engine on the straights, Mercedes are lagging behind the top two, Red Bull and Ferrari, in matching the timings they put on line. Free practice in Baku states the obvious, with Mercedes still struggling to get on the top and almost all the teams seeing their drivers going up and down.
Is Baku Streets Circuit not a blessing anymore? Thanks to porpoising
As mentioned earlier, the free practice has been a hectic time for all the drivers to get cars stable in the last sector of the lap. With drivers complaining about the physical damages caused by proposing, even the fans are all over the social media complaining about the long-term health damage their iconic might suffer.
NFL has suffered severe concussions to their players for a long time now, with players suffering from brain damage, depression and also dying a number of times. The sport is trying to minimise the damages to a minimum. “This was amusing at first but now it’s just silly, the FIA need to step in and consider what impact this is having on the drivers long term health. There’s many studies into the damage of microconussions in NFL,” tweeted a fan over a video of Ferrari porpoising.
WIth drivers also reported pain in their jaws and chest lately after the Free practice, there are demands for the car regulations to get better in the coming years.
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Soham Raj Jain
(480 Articles Published)