Mercedes fearful of porpoising issue returning to W13

Mercedes’ chief strategist James Vowles believes “it would be wrong to say the porpoising issue has disappeared” despite an improved showing in Barcelona.

Having seemingly solved the bouncing issue that has so far plagued their defence of the Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes seemed to have turned a corner in Spain thanks to upgrades brought to the W13.

George Russell was able to take third place while also being able to defend against Max Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton recovered from a lap one incident to take his car from the back of the pack to fifth.

Their performance had many, including Russell and Toto Wolff, declaring a title challenge was back on – but chief strategist Vowles has warned they are not entirely out of the woods just yet.

“We’ve had one race out of six where the car has been well behaved,” he said in the post-race debrief for Mercedes’ YouTube channel.

“It was a car that really was a proper racing car for once. We could set it up, we could tune it, we could play around with the settings and it would respond in a way that was predictable, and the same couldn’t be said for the car we had for the first five races of the season.

Mercedes shows potential in Spain

Red Bull's team order hands Verstappen the win

Torquing Point: Can Carlos Sainz win his home race?

Torquing Point: George Russell up there with the best in 2022 so far

Leclerc respects Verstappen, for now

Norris says F1 isn’t just about ‘pure success’

“However, we have to temper our expectations. It’s one track, and a track that has suited our car for many years prior to this one. There is a lot for us to understand and learn.”

The 42-year-old, who has been with Mercedes since their arrival into the sport in 2010, said the porpoising issue