Mercedes’ troubles are expected to continue at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this weekend.
This comes after Mercedes’ ‘porpoising’ issues emerged at the Monaco Grand Prix and it is expected nothing will change as Formula 1 returns to the Baku street circuit for the eighth race of the season.
The bouncing of the Mercedes car appeared to be worse than ever around the streets of Monte Carlo, with the surface of the circuit adding to their problems with the car’s aerodynamics. However, Hamilton and Russell had displayed signs of improvement in Barcelona but their woes seem to persist as F1 returns to Baku according to former F1 driver Marc Surer.
“You have to drive this stiff suspension to stop the porpoising, that means the car is sprung so hard that it doesn’t start bouncing on the straights,” Surer told Formel.de.
“They obviously got that under control to some extent. But now, of course, they’re losing with this tough set-up in the corners and Baku is just a street circuit – it also goes up and down a bit and there are bumps there.”
“I can’t imagine that the Mercedes will do great there.”
After a rocky start to the season, Hamilton currently sits sixth in the driver standings, with Russell fourth in his first season with the squad. Hamilton expressed his anticipation for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which will take place this weekend.
“I’m praying the car doesn’t feel like it does here,” Hamilton said. “This was the worst in this car so far because of the potholes. I’m looking forward to it going away – just my teeth, my jaw moving all the time.”
“I’m done shaking. I don’t know if it’s the porpoising. I hope it’s not what we had in the last race, so I want it to not be a problem. But if there are potholes, then in the corners we can have them.”
