Hill on the ‘ridiculous’ and ‘out of control’ Mercedes

Damon Hill says the Mercedes’ W13 is “out of control” with the extreme porpoising seen in Bahrain’s practice sessions.

Mercedes arrived at the Sakhir circuit downplaying their chances of success, claims that rivals scoffed at.

But, based on what was seen out on track on Friday, it seems their concerns are valid.

George Russell was sixth-tenths slower than pace-setter Max Verstappen with Lewis Hamilton 1.2s down on his 2021 title rival.

And it is mainly because Mercedes have yet to get a handle on their porpoising issues.

The team trialled two different floor configurations on Friday in the hope that one would stand out, and while trackside engineering director Andy Shovlin says they did get a “clear read” on which was “best for the bouncing”, it was by no means resolved.

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Hill, watching Hamilton put in a lap, was shocked by the amount of porpoising the Mercedes suffers.

A bumpy ride for Lewis Hamilton on Friday evening #BahrainGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/rjrFIB3eyO

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 18, 2022

“Possibly they did a big set-up change, which is why they were late getting out, but it didn’t work,” Hill said on Sky Sports F1.

“You could see from the onboard camera [Hamilton] was getting a proper shaking around. Whether he can actually see is one question!

“As the speed increases, the oscillation gets greater. You get the occasional bump, but this is ridiculous. That is