Porpoising, back pain, and whatnot ensued in Baku during the highly eventful Azerbaijan GP last weekend. Carlos Sainz has also now given his verdict on the whole ‘bouncing’ situation, which is causing harmful discomfort to many drivers. Facing the pressure of several G-forces, many drivers have reported back pain after Baku’s porpoising.
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This issue has been going on since the beginning of Barcelona pre-testing. However, there has been no solid solution to the problem, as almost every team still remains plagued by ‘porpoising’. Moreover, the issue has persisted even in the fastest of cars; Ferrari as driver Sainz finally spoke up.
The Spaniard is unluckily one of the drivers who experienced pain throughout racing. While many drivers have voiced this concern in a drivers’ meeting with the FIA, Sainz joined them. He revealed, “Friday I suffered a lot, and for a few reason I had a car or a bottom that caused more porpoising and skidded the car more than the other with the same set -up and it was, very, very painful . ” (quotes translated using google)
Lewis after the race. Hope he gets some well deserved rest pic.twitter.com/ZqQ1Wa6ZU6
— Sir Lewis Hamilton Updates (@SirLewisUpdates) June 12, 2022
“I saw other riders struggling on the straight, and we got to the point where we looked at each other to say: “We have to do something, because we can’t last another 10 years like this. We…”
The visor cameras have often shown many fans the perspective of sitting inside a car and bouncing so violently. And bouncing at a speed of 300km/hr might even cause damage to spinal discs. It only makes sense why drivers like Pierre Gasly, Daniel Ricciardo, Sainz, George Russell, Sebastian Vettel, and a heavily unsettled Lewis Hamilton chose to speak up.
Carlos Sainz wants car changes
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Sainz further described that improving the technology will solve the issue. He insisted that drivers do not necessarily need medical help, but they do need changes in the car. The Spaniard explained, “We do not need a medical commission but only of something smarter about suspension or how cars are put on the track. We would like the FIA to act quickly, as quickly as possible, because otherwise the situation will start to be difficult to manage due to the accumulation of pain.”
“I don’t know if we can talk about danger, but we have to ask ourselves if it is necessary for F1 to have 20 drivers at the end of each race with back problems.”
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So, do you agree with Carlos? Should the FIA change things for everyone? Including the teams who are not complaining at all and are maybe performing well?