The most attentive observers will not have missed one light on on the bottom of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes W13 during the Australian Grand Prix, finished in fourth place by the seven-time world champion behind boxing mate George Russell, lucky to be able to use a neutralization to make his pit stop thus bypassing the illustrious team mate that had even stolen third position from Sergio Perez at the start.
The light placed on the bottom of Hamilton’s car was one of the sensors with which the W13 of the multi-titled Stevenage driver was equipped, who in Australia competed with 1.5 kg of ‘ballast’ compared to Russell due to these sensors, placed to monitor the functioning of a new fund mounted on the Hamilton car. As reported by the German newspaper Auto Motor and Sport Mercedes is still a long way from understanding the reasons why the phenomenon of high-speed hopping (porpoising) manifests itself so clearly on the W13.
In addition to being more accentuated than what the Ferrari F1-75 highlights – Charles Leclerc stated that the hopping is more dramatic in the television images and that porpoising inside the cockpit is hardly even noticeable – the aerodynamic rebound of which Mercedes suffers appears random, hence the need to equip Hamilton’s car with different sensors and a new fund in the hope of being able to map the porpoising and be able to proceed with corrective measures. The first were expected in Australia, but were perhaps sent back to Imola. As George Russell pointed out, Mercedes cannot afford upgrades by following the empirical method by trial and error. Brackley must go without fail, although not mainly for budget reasons cap. First, however, the porpoising puzzle must be solved.
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