Lewis Hamilton claims porpoising has returned to haunt him during the Belgian GP

Lewis Hamilton shed light on a quiet drive at the Belgian GP including the return of porpoising.

Lewis Hamilton claims porpoising has returned to haunt him during the Belgian GP

Lewis Hamilton (image via Getty Images)

Lewis Hamilton started the Belgian GP from the second row. The British driver stayed in third place during the first few laps before inevitably getting overtaken by Max Verstappen. The 7-time world champion opened up about his quiet drive at Spa-Francorchamps but with a major concern over the bouncing of the Mercedes W14.

Hamilton mentioned that it was a monotonous race for the 7-time world champion as he lacked the pace to challenge the front-runners. Although, the 38-year-old had enjoyed a big gap over the cars behind that allowed him to box for the fastest lap. He is quoted by Motorsports.com, “I think it was kind of a non-eventful race, there wasn’t much really going on, I wasn’t able to keep up with the cars ahead of me.”

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The 7-time world champion shed light on the issues he faced during the race, including the return of porpoising. Porpoising had become a major cause of concern for Hamilton and Mercedes in 2022, with the 38-year-old even suffering physically after races due to the car’s bouncing. Lewis Hamilton explained, “I struggled at the beginning, rear end is our biggest issue. Then we had big bouncing this weekend, so we are back to the bouncing like we had last year.”

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Lewis Hamilton praying for a solution to porpoising

Lewis Hamilton during the Belgian GP F1 Sprint (Credits: @MercedesAMGF1/Twitter)
Lewis Hamilton during the Belgian GP F1 Sprint (Credits: @MercedesAMGF1/Twitter)

The British driver revealed that Mercedes was unaware of the cause for porpoIsing on the W14. Although, the Silver Arrows were already prepared to work on fixing the car before the next race of the season at Zandvoort. The 7-time world champion expressed his desperation about finding a solution to this massive problem. He stated, “I don’t really have much more answers for you. I know what I want and I am praying for it.”

The Mercedes driver outscored teammate George Russell in the Grand Prix and the F1 Sprint. Hamilton has now closed up to Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in the Drivers’ standings, with the two veterans separated by just a single point in the battle for third place. The 7-time world champion seems to be in the prime position to clinch P3 in the championship soon.

Thus, Lewis Hamilton raised concerns over the return of porpoising. The 7-time world champion was alarmed to see the problem reappear this season. Hamilton continues to have faith in Mercedes to resolve this issue soon. Although, the 38-year-old was not glad to face the horrors of porpoising again after tackling the issue in 2022.

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