Russell: Porpoising effect a 'safety concern' for some teams

George Russell says Mercedes is only experiencing a mild porpoising effect on W13, but believes the phenomenon is turning into a safety concern for some teams.

Formula 1's new technical regulations have led to the return of ground effect cars, a radical design approach where most of a car's downforce is generated by its underfloor venturi rather than by its front and rear wings.

However, a by-product of ground effect aerodynamics is the up and down oscillatory movement of a car at full speed, when extreme downforce generated by the underfloor is suddenly disrupted and pressure is released, causing a car's ride height to suddenly increase until the airflow reattaches.

Teams have been caught out by the wicked phenomenon in pre-season testing, or at least by its magnitude.

• Ferrari: F1 teams caught out by 'porpoising' ground effect issue

"I think you can see some quite substantial issues with the cars in the straights with the bottoming," Russell said.

"So this is a compromise we need to find to go quickest around the lap. It’s something I don’t think any team has experienced before. We’re seeing some interesting things out there."

Mercedes is currently dealing with a relatively mild porpoising effect on its W13 Silver Arrow. But Russell reckons that for others, the issue could be a safety concern.

"From what I’ve seen of other teams in particular, it would be a safety concern, so that does need to be sorted one way or another," said the Briton.

"But there’s a lot of intelligent people up and down this grid, and I’m sure everyone will get on top of it sooner than later."

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, who is also experiencing the problem with the Scuderia's F1-75, said that the severity of the issue "depends on the set-up you run".

"It's a whole new world and understanding that we need to get on top of, because it looks like it could be a topic for this year," Sainz said.

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