Mercedes W14 Porpoising: George Russell Gives Cryptic Feedback After Shakedown
Mercedes' newest F1 contender, the W14, made its debut on the Silverstone race track just after its grand unveiling. The team reserved the Grand Prix track exclusively for the car's first outing and handed the keys over to George Russell to take the car for a spin.
The track conditions were decidedly British: Cool, but surprisingly dry. This allowed the Silver Arrow driver George Russell to stretch the W14's legs and retrieve plenty of data from their first shakedown.
There were rumours that the car suffered a few issues, but the Brit was looking confident after the driving, reporting that nothing went wrong and that there was no drama.
Of course, the attending media were quick to ask about porpoising, but Russell wasn't having any of it.
"It's been a pretty good winter. I feel in a strong place. Mentally I feel in the strongest place I've ever been," he said.
He continued:
"I know that my team have put everything into this car. I have put everything into my fitness side, the sim work, work with engineers, obviously you can always do more but I feel I am in a really place of finding the right balance."
He was then specifically asked about porpoising on the W14:
"You'll see next week," he said simply.
Despite the ambiguity surrounding the bouncing issue, fans of the Mercedes team are eagerly anticipating the W14's official debut on the track later this month during pre-season testing in Bahrain.
The car's initial outing has provided valuable data, and the team can now start fine-tuning its performance. If the team has addressed the bouncing issue as well as a few other improvements such as weight as well as a few aerodynamic tricks, the W14 could be a game-changer and propel the Mercedes team into the winning circle once again.