Russell: ‘Major incident’ inevitable if bouncing continues

Mercedes unlikely to be ‘transformed’ in Baku

All eyes on Baku this weekend

George Russell feels the bouncing of the 2022 cars will go from causing discomfort to a “major incident” if action is not taken.

The bouncing, known as ‘porpoising’, is a phenomenon associated with Formula 1’s return to ground-effect aerodynamics for the 2022 season and beyond.

The lower a team runs the car for performance gains, the more profound the ‘porpoising’ effect can become. However, the bumpy Baku City Circuit appears to be amplifying the problem.

Russell made his view clear that the ‘porpoising’ cannot be allowed to continue in this way.

The Mercedes W13 has been particularly prone to it so far this season and down the 2.2km start-finish straight, the discomfort for both Russell and Lewis Hamilton was clear to see.

Mercedes were not the only team suffering, Ferrari’s F1-75 also bouncing away, while very few teams were completely immune.

Motorsport.com report the issue was discussed during the drivers’ briefing in Baku, centred around whether this is something the teams are responsible for solving or if the FIA need to step in.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz has spoken previously of concerns for his long-term health due to the bouncing.

And Russell firmly believes the time has come to tackle this issue.

“I think it’s just a matter of time before we see a major incident,” the Mercedes driver claimed after qualifying P5 for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“A lot of us can barely keep the car in a straight line over these bumps. We are going around the last two corners at 300 kilometres an hour, bottoming out – you can visibly see on the tarmac how close the cars are running to the ground.

“Even Formula 2 are in the same position as well, they have a