F1 Marred By the Physics of Porpoising?
Phenomenon Causing Safety Concerns Amongst Drivers
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F1 is coming under fire from its own drivers. The 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was given a black eye thanks to “porpoising”, a phenomena that caused the car to bounce on the track.
Per ESPN’s F1 Editor, Laurence Edmondson:
Porpoising is linked to F1’s rule changes for 2022, which have allowed teams more freedom to generate downforce from the underside of the car through the use of ground-effect aerodynamics. Essentially, the length of the car is treated as an upside-down aeroplane wing with the lower surface profiled to generate low air pressure under the car and suck it to the track.
For a simple explanation:
Here’s a look of what porpoising can do to an F1 car in action:
The driver’s have taken note and per the BBC, George Russell, F1 driver and director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) has requested that the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile(FIA) look into the matter.
Counterpoint, from Motorsport.com here’s why porpoising may remain a hot-button issue for the sport in the near future.
But while Russell’s concerns are shared by a lot of drivers, not all teams believe that anything drastic needs to be done in the short term — especially as it is a problem not all competitors suffer from.
However, he also emphasised that any team can instantly get rid of the problem by raising the ride height of their car — although doing so would lead to a reduction in performance.
F1 is the most tech-forward sports organization in the world. The entire car is a science experiment rooted in technology. Seeing that not all competitors experience porpoising it seems like an algorithm or two may be off. Keep in mind that the F1 is filled with driver, team, and constructors drama. Per ESPN, there’s definitely contention in the air.
Christian Horner, Principal of the Red Bull Racing, stated the following on the topic:
When asked Sunday evening what he would do if his drivers were struggling with an uncompetitive car, Horner said: “I’d tell them to bitch as much as they could on the radio and make as big an issue out of it as they possibly could. It’s part of the game.
“You can see it’s uncomfortable, but there are remedies to that. But it’s to the detriment of the car performance. What’s the easiest thing to do is to complain from a safety point of view, but each team has a choice.”
Let the war of words and tech battle rage on, F1 will always have to balance advancements of technology with physical limitations.
