Several Formula 1 drivers complained about increased bouncing during the first practice session on Friday ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.
The return of ground-effect aerodynamics in the sport last year brought with it the 'porpoising' phenomenon which caused much more disruption than expected. Some teams got on top of it quickly, while others spent the first few months of the year compromised by the problem.
Mercedes were among the worst affected and those images of Lewis Hamilton holding his back in agony after a rough ride in Baku remain enduring. Fortunately for him, it was less of a factor in the second half of the year after the FIA got involved with a technical directive.
Porpoising did not reappear at the start of this season, but that could change this weekend in Barcelona. The track is faster than ever thanks to the removal of the unpopular slow chicane towards the end of the lap, making that part of the circuit much faster.
In FP1 on Friday, a number of drivers reported that it was also having an effect on their ride comfort. The two Red Bull drivers were among those to point out the problem, even though they were one of the first teams to eradicate the issue last year.
Max Verstappen said over the radio: "Car is bouncing under braking into Turn 10 and in the last corner." And his team-mate Sergio Perez also warned: "I'm starting to bounce as I go into the final corner."
George Russell reported: "A bit of bouncing on the entry of that last corner." And Lando Norris even used the dreaded term itself as he told his race engineer: "Some porpoising and bottoming into the last corner. It's upsetting the car quite a bit."
Speaking after the session, Sky Sports reporter Martin Brundle explained: "The underneath of the car generates an awful lot of downforce on these ground-effect cars. It works in conjunction with the ground to generate this incredible downward load.
"Teams run them as low as they can get away with but, occasionally it just chokes especially on a bump. The car goes down, loses downforce, comes up, gains downforce, goes back down again and this motion goes on. The last thing you need coming into that final corner is the car kicking off like that."
Floor designs of the cars were changed this year to help combat the problem which seems to have done the trick for the most part. But in Barcelona this weekend the teams may be forced to raise the ride heights of their cars in the name of driver comfort – but not so much as to compromise performance.
