Mercedes Faces Questions As Russell Endures Pain Due to ‘Bouncing’

Lewis Hamilton’s car is ‘undriveable’ and now, the younger teammate is experiencing chest and back pain after worst weekend of porpoising yet.

IMAGO / Marco Canoniero

Mercedes and team principal Toto Wolff continue to deal with the questions and criticism about this year’s performance; however, there is a new reality they face. 

This issue presents a greater problem, one that is much more severe than not finishing at the team’s historic standard: real, human pain. George Russell finished in fourth at Imola, but he revealed afterwards that the car’s “porpoising” problems were far worse than before. 

“Porpoising” refers to the jarring bouncing on the suspension during high speeds, which is what the driver feels. Typically the cause is related to the cars’ aerodynamics.

“This is the first weekend where I've been truly struggling with my back and like chest pains from the severity of the bouncing,” Russell said, per Reuters. “But it’s just what we have to do get the fastest lap times out of the car.”

Since the preseason, several of the drivers around the paddock have made a comment about the issue. Mercedes, though, seems to be struggling the most. 

“When the car and tires are in the right window the car, except for the bouncing, feels really good to drive,” Russell said. “But the bouncing really takes your breath away. It's the most extreme I've ever felt it.”

He added, “I really hope we find a solution and I hope every team who's struggling with the bouncing finds a solution because it's not sustainable for the drivers to continue with this level.” 

Despite the problems the Mercedes cars face, Russell has been the more consistent driver, not just compared to teammate Lewis Hamilton, but to the rest of the grid. He is the only driver this season to finish in the top five of every race. Russell went P4 in Bahrain, P5 in Saudi Arabia, snagged a podium with P3 in Australia and brought it home with fourth at the Emilia Romagna.

Meanwhile, Hamilton has been struggling, and over the team radio, Wolff told Hamilton that he knows “this is undriveable” and that it was a “terrible race.” Hamilton later said to Sky Sports, “I'm out of the Championship for sure,” echoing similar comments he made after Saturday’s sprint race.

Hamilton has finished in the top five twice in four races this season, going P3 in Bahrain, P10 in Saudi Arabia, P4 in Australia and a season-low 13th on Sunday.

Mercedes won the last eight constructors’ titles, but it does not appear that it will be in contention this season. It currently stands at third in the standings with 77 points after four races. Wolff said over the weekend, per Reuters, “You see the bouncing on the main straight, I wonder how the two of them can even keep the car on the track at times.”

He continued, “Because of the bouncing, we are not able to run it where it should run. That has huge ramifications on the set-up, on the tyre grip etc, so one is interlinked to the other. I think if we were to get on top of the porpoising, we would unlock much more in terms of performance on the car.”

As Wolff and Mercedes continue to face the music, he echoed his commitment when it was suggested if the team principal had thought about retiring. 

“The problem is that I'm dead in the Maldives without what I'm doing here,” Wolff said, per Autosport. “The activity in the team, developing the team, is what I really enjoy. Formula 1 is booming. On the revenue side, things are going very well and this is what I actually want to do all my life.

“In that respect, the question hasn't arisen until now to say: that's it. It would be like a project manager or an employee saying: 'I've done this now, I'll go out with the best record and that's it.' But it doesn't stop with me. It's going on.”