Max on the RB18: 'Little trouble with porpoising'

Published on 12 March 2022 by Kees-Jan Koster

With the introduction of the new regulations an old phenomenon has returned to Formula 1: ‘porpoising’, at high speeds the cars start to bounce, an unintentional side effect of ground effect.

Max says at Bahrain that Oracle Red Bull Racing were already working in Barcelona to control this problem, from which all the teams suffer in greater or lesser extent. “During testing in Barcelona, we tried a couple of things. Here in Bahrain we have little trouble with porpoising. We learned what to do about it and that seems to work okay.”

Max tries to explain in laymen’s terms what causes porpoising: “The regulations have changed quite a bit and a lot of downforce is now generated by the floor. The faster you go, the more the car is drawn to the asphalt. The car goes down and at some point, there is such a force that the floor stalls. The faster you go, the more the floor is acting like that. There are multiple ways to fix it, for example to change the floor. Or to increase the ride hight. That will reduce the effect, but it will cost you a lot of downforce.”

Porpoising will not make you go a lot slower, but when it happens in a high-speed corner, it could cause an untenable situation. The bouncing is very uncomfortable for the drivers and after a while it can cause damage to the car.

“It is like you are compressed, especially in your back and neck”, says Max. “That is not a pleasant feeling, especially when it gets very aggressive. Of course, you can drive a race like that, but you will not feel well when you get out of the car.”