Even after three races of the season, “porpoising” in Formula 1 remains a problem. However, not all teams and drivers suffer equally from the visible bouncing of the cars. Charles Leclerc also suffered from the phenomenon at the Australian Grand Prix, but it didn’t affect him too much.
“I don’t know why, but I’m not very sensitive to it,” says the Ferrari driver, when asked about the “hopping” F1-75. “It looks extreme on the onboard footage. And of course I can feel it. But it doesn’t bother me too much in terms of performance, just maybe a bit at turn 9.”
Nevertheless, Leclerc emphasizes: “It’s definitely something we want to tackle because it doesn’t help us with consistency. Especially when you jump in a corner, it can be a problem. So we have to work on that.”
In Melbourne it was not an issue for him. “I wouldn’t have been able to drive any faster if I hadn’t touched down,” explains the Monegasque. “It was a bit difficult at the restart because I had it before turn 1. You’re not so sure on the brakes then. But everything went well. But of course it’s not really comfortable to do 58 laps like that.”
Problem at Ferrari “not yet fully solved”
Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto reveals when asked about the “porpoising” problem: “It’s something we’re working on. We know it’s not fully resolved yet.”
“Perhaps as early as Imola we’ll try to defuse it further if we can. But it’s something we know isn’t fully resolved yet. It’s not a surprise, but something that’s difficult to control is.”
In this context, the Ferrari team boss admits: “There are races or track layouts where we suffer more than others – whatever the reasons may be. So when we came here, it was clear to us since Friday that it was also for this one weekend could have been a problem.”