Mercedes' zero-pod design of the W13 has been heavily criticized for porpoising, as the car's floor is not stabilized by the simple design.
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Mercedes has had the biggest trouble with porpoising this season, which is caused by the use of ground effect aerodynamics to generate downforce. The zero-pod design of the W13 has been heavily criticized for this, as the car’s floor is not stabilized by the simple design. Mercedes’ performances have reflected the instability, with the team unable to win a grand prix, marking the first time since 2013 that they have gone seven races without a win in a calendar year.
Mercedes racing head Toto Wolff admitted earlier to the Spanish Grand Prix that the team must be open to re-evaluating their position on the zero-pods as they fell further behind Red Bull and Ferrari in the standings. He was convinced a month ago that they still had time. Damon Hill, on the other hand, feels that his time is up following Friday’s bounce in Baku, which left Lewis Hamilton feeling a little hurt.
“It looks like they’re trying everything they can think of, if you listen to Lewis saying that he tried another experimental set up yet again, without much success. This is where you start to go, fundamentally have we gone wrong somewhere with our concept? Then, that’s a bit more of a headache because you can’t just do that with upgrades.” Opined Hill.
“It’s difficult to do that with upgrades. They said that they felt like they had a direction in Spain, but it’s been lost again. They need to ask themselves some big questions and make some big decisions, I think.” Expressed the 1996 World Champion.
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In Friday’s practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, both Mercedes drivers were nearly 1.3 seconds off the pace, with Hamilton blaming the bouncing for the gap. “I just can’t really tell you where 1.6 seconds…that’s a long way away, a lot of it’s on the straights. Bouncing, we hit some serious speeds at the end here and it’s bouncing a lot. It’s uncomfortable.” said Sky Sports F1’s Naomi Schiff.
“Clearly all the comments are saying that the drivers are suffering, and you saw it from Lewis, his back is hurting. For visibility as well, it’s not great. It’s more frustrating because I think really at this point, they want to be steering away from this issue and starting to focus on their real overall set up. I think that’s the bigger issue, they haven’t been able to solve it and there is supposed potential in the car, and it still hasn’t been unleashed.” said Schiff.
