Mercedes have been worst affected by Formula One’s rules changes for the 2022 season. The drastic changes – introduced to make racing more exciting- forced carmakers to re-think F1 cars from scratch. While Red Bull (and Ferrari to an extent) have smoothly transitioned to the present system, the Brackley-based team have struggled throughout the season. Their star man Lewis Hamilton and understudy George Russell have highlighted the bounciness of their vehicles, which has caused much distress to the drivers. As per the team’s engineers, the unsteadiness is due to an aerodynamic issue called ‘porpoising’. 

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Porpoising refers to the car’s tendency to create an air suction below the car’s body, pulling the moving vehicle downwards. At higher speeds, the downforce is greater, but once the car’s surface is closer to the ground, the airflow stops, causing it to propel upwards at considerable force. The effects are doubly dangerous for the drivers who risk suffering severe headaches if not minor concussions from the force with which their skulls strike the interiors of their helmets.

Speaking to the Times ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, Hamilton spoke of the effects it has had on his health:

“In terms of micro-concussions, I have definitely been having a lot more headaches in the past couple of months. But I have not seen a specialist about it so I have not taken it too seriously. I have just taken painkillers.”

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The 37-year-old has looked off-colour from the get-go, struggling to keep pace with pace-setters Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc. But much of it is perhaps due to the bruising he has suffered during races, taking him the best part of the week to recover from the same. “When you experience up to 10G on a bump, that is a heavy load on the lower back and top part of your neck,” added Lewis.

But the seven-time Champion argues that there are no easy fixes to remedy their porpoising troubles. Raising the car’s height might seem an easy enough solution, but it would likely reduce the car’s pace without necessarily fixing the problem. Mercedes have tinkered with this fix in Monaco and Baku without much success.

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With porpoising becoming a broader problem across the paddock, The FIA stepped forward to instruct the teams to not compromise on drivers’ health, asking them to eliminate or minimize the effects of porpoising at the earliest. However, this directive met with a mixed reception, with the Mercedes duo acknowledging its merits while Championship leader Verstappen criticized the announcement’s timing.