Ross Brawn reveals surprise at F1 teams being 'caught out' by porpoise effect

Ross Brawn has said that he is a bit surprised that some Formula 1 teams have been ‘caught out’ by the porpoise effect that is being generated by the new era of cars.

The porpoise effect happens at high speed when the air underneath the car stalls thanks to ground effect as the bottom of the car is sucked to the ground. The pressure is then released and a bobbing motion plays out, resembling a porpoise in the ocean.

It’s something we’ve not seen since the 80s and Brawn says he’s surprised some of the teams were not seemingly that prepared for it.

“We’ve all experienced it. It is prevalent, it’s a phenomenon, it’s physics.

“I’m a little surprised some of them have been caught out by it.

“I thought they would have anticipated it from their wind tunnel work, but you can see on the track that some people have already come to terms with it, so there are solutions out there.

“I think where they will face a challenge is that I suspect the solutions may be cutting back on performance a little bit, and the strongest performance may put them on the edge [of porpoising] – but that is a decision for the teams to make on how they set the car up.”