Porpoising. Ground Effect. Vortexes. What F1’s new terms mean ahead of the start of the 2022 season in Bahrain

F1’s raft of rule changes has meant a host of new terminology for the sport’s fans to contend with. From porpoising to ground effect, here are some of the key components added to the glossary from the final days of testing. What is ‘porpoising’? Ad/> The resounding images of testing ahead of the 2022 F1 season are the bobbing heads of drivers contending with their cars bouncing up and down beneath them.

Formula 1F1 2022: New drivers, rule changes and race scheduleA DAY AGO Akin to the nominal porpoise breaking the water then diving below it, cars at all speeds are nodding and jumping on the straights. With time on the track limited, tweaks to wrangle the most from their engines have been forfeited to stop the wobble. The solution at Barcelona was to go slower, and Mercedes continued this philosophy into the final session in Bahrain — not particularly viable for a team pushing for the championship.

/> Extensive work in the simulations and time in the wind tunnels failed to expose the phenomenon so teams were left reeling to see their creations juddering around the track. An F1 car is never a comfortable place to be. The extreme low-slung seat, unforgiving suspension and cornering forces make it difficult to maintain a consistent head position.

Drivers can be subject to up six g of force, making their bodies weigh up to six times as much. But the new effect is putting the drivers’ heads and necks under even more strain, with reports of headaches already starting to emerge. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz said: “It doesn’t feel great, especially when you think that we’re doing 300 kmh and we’re jumping 30-40mm up and down like crazy.

Annoying. It’s quite on the limit. You have to trust the engineers and everyone around you that it’s