F1: George Russell complains of ‘porpoising’ pain in Mercedes at Imola

George Russell has said he suffered back and chest pain during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as a result of the “porpoising” problem disproportionately affecting Mercedes and warned drivers across the grid could not keep going until the end of the season if the issue persisted.

Russell managed to finish fourth at Imola having started 11th but his Mercedes team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, suffered a frustrating and fruitless race in 13th, and the ingnominy of being lapped by race winner Max Verstappen, leaving team principal Toto Wolff to describe Hamilton’s car in particular as “undriveable”.

The Mercedes is still suffering from the porpoising – the violent bouncing on the straight caused by the ground-effect aero unloading and loading – that has stymied their car’s performance all season. At Imola it was particularly severe. In order to mitigate it, Mercedes have to compromise their set up, which affects tyre grip and downforce and has knock-on issues across the car.

“The bouncing, it really takes your breath away. It’s the most extreme I’ve ever felt it,” Russell said. “I really hope we find a solution and I hope every team struggling with the bouncing finds a solution, because it’s not sustainable for the drivers to continue. This is the first weekend I’ve truly been struggling with my back, and almost like chest pains from the severity of the bouncing.”

Verstappen won with a commanding drive from pole position and with teammate Sergio Pérez sealed Red Bull’s first one-two finish since Malaysia in 2016. With Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc making an unforced error late in the race and spinning off, he could manage only sixth and Verstappen was able to close the championship gap to Leclerc to just 27 points from the 46 it had been