Haas: All teams 'in a much better place' regarding porpoising

Haas technical director Simone Resta doubts that proposing will be an issue for F1 teams this season given the knowledge and experience accumulated on the aero phenomenon last year.

Porpoising – the high frequency vertical bouncing effect generated at high speed by the under-floor of F1's ground-effect cars – was a major headache for many teams, and especially Mercedes, last year.

Engineers eventually managed to somewhat mitigate the phenomenon as the season unfolded, but the FIA nevertheless decided to impose proactive measures on the ground of safety to minimize the painful problem.

An anti-porpoising Technical Directive published in the second half 2022 forced some teams to increase the ride height of their cars to reduce the chronic bouncing effect.

But the most significant action decided by F1's governing body was a delayed measure introduced into this year's technical regulations, and which compels teams to raise the height of their car's floor by 15 mm while also imposing a 10mm higher diffusor groove.

"In the middle of last year, the FIA decided to start a program to improve the safety of the cars with some short-term and medium-term actions," explained Resta following the launch of Haas' new VF-23 car.

"The short-term were reflected already while the medium-term actions will materialize with the new car.

"As mentioned, the floor will be modified and is going to be the biggest change of the car in terms of regulation.

"It’s aimed to improve porpoising and I suppose it will cost everyone a little bit of performance, but at the start of the last year everyone has learned so much that I believe everyone will be in a much better place in terms of the porpoising characteristics of these new cars."

• Read also: Gene Haas confident 2023 car will deliver points

Asked if the changes would impact the running order in F1's midfield, Resta admitted that changes were impossible to predict.

"It’s always very difficult to predict what's happening in a new season in terms of competitiveness and ranking from the first to the last cars on the grid," said the Italian.

"Considering a good stability in terms of regulation and considering the outcome of last year, I think that we might see the gap closing, but let’s see."

Resta also explained that Haas will have a "stronger" development programme this season than in the past.

"On upgrades, I think it's probably one of the most 'fashionable' arguments in Formula 1, and I won't spoil the surprise for anyone.

"For sure, we'll have a stronger programme of upgrades compared to last year and we are still working on that. We are at the very beginning.

"We've just defined the launch car, so the team is working on it, we have our roadmap, but it's very early to say exactly what we'll do and when."

Haas concluded its 2022 campaign P8 in the Constructors' standings, or two spots higher than in 2021. Resta called the team's performance "a great comeback" that gave "a massive boost to everyone working on the car – both at the factory and those at track".

"We’re building on that momentum this season and try to make another step," he added.

"I would say it was probably quite a young group formed at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021, so after one year of working together, I think it’s a good opportunity to create another car together with a better rhythm and better collaboration as a team."

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