Azerbaijan GP: Lewis Hamilton and George Russell give verdicts on Friday
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George Russell (L) and Lewis Hamilton (R)
The new regulations in effect from this season saw the advent of new aspects of the cars and the racing – 18-inch tires, reduced dirty air, and perhaps most importantly: it marked the return of bouncing, and porpoising. On the front, it has been the Mercedes and Ferrari cars that have experienced it most, but it has been nowhere near as much a problem for the Italians.
The Spanish Grand Prix was a great weekend for Mercedes. The car looked stronger than before, and the porpoising (and bouncing) was reduced to a large extent, at least on the straights. In Monaco, it returned. In Baku, it’s still there. Hamilton has said that the bouncing is a result of Mercedes’ stiff suspension, made worse by bumpier street circuits.
Carlos Sainz has already called for a debate about the porpoising issues, citing it as a health concern. In fact, George Russell had complained of back and chest pains following the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz again complained about the porpoising today, and so did George Russell.
Lewis Hamilton struggled with the bouncing on Friday
After FP2, George Russell had said: “There was a little bit of it [the bouncing] but it’s just that the cars are running so close to the ground. It’s crazy out there through those high-speed corners, the car’s fully bottoming out. I think it’s the same for everybody and it’s really not comfortable to drive.”
He added that he thinks this issue threatens the sustainability of the sport. “I don’t know what the future holds for this era of cars, but I don’t think it’s right to run like this for the next four years, or whatever we’ve got. For all of us, conversations are going to be needed as everybody is in the same boat, really.”
When Lewis Hamilton was asked about the hardest part of his day, the answer was clear: “The bouncing.” Hamilton also revealed that he had been left feeling a little sore from it.
Both Mercedes cars were over a second slower in the practice sessions that the leading car, that being Sergio Perez in FP1 and Charles Leclerc in FP2. In FP1, Hamilton finished two places above George Russell, while in FP2, he was 12th, while Russell was 7th.
“It was a tricky day, we weren’t as competitive as we would have liked. Again, a tricky track to get the tires in the right window.” Indeed, the session was filled with cars going into the run-off areas from lock-ups. He cited a lack of optimal tire conditions and just a general lack of performance as the reason for their gap to the top.
On why he struggled in FP2 more as compared with FP1, Hamilton said that they tried something new that did not work. “But at least we tried it and got data on it, and now we’ll go through it, and hopefully, for tomorrow we’ll probably revert back to what we changed.”
It remains to be seen if Mercedes will get on top of their issues, or will they hamper the weekend for them as they had done in Monaco. Qualifying is going to be very interesting.
Also Read: “Mercedes could surprise,” Sam Collins’ bold prediction ahead of the Azerbaijan GP
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)