Fussing Lewis Hamilton & Co. Escape 13-Inch Agony as 2022 F1 Regulations Reaps Bittersweet Results

The bouncing and porpoising in the 2022 cars have arguably been the most talked-about topic this season. Many drivers like Lewis Hamilton have complained regularly about the physical issues they are facing because of the porpoising.

But Pirelli Motorsport head Mario Isola has revealed that porpoising would have been even worse if the cars still had the 13-inch tires. It is only this year that the sport decided to shift to bigger 18-inch tires for 2022.

“I don’t think it is a matter of 18-inches or 13-inches. This is an effect that is coming from the cars. But obviously, maybe with the higher sidewall of the 13-inches, this bouncing effect could have been even more, because you have the sidewall that is much bigger and working as a sort of suspension, much more than the current one,” said Isola.

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The Mercedes driver complained of experiencing severe back pain after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He revealed he has been having bruises from the bouncing in the cars.

Lewis Hamilton explains the physical pain caused by porpoising

The 7-time world champion mentioned that bouncing is not good for the long-term health of the drivers. He even admitted that his discs are not in the best shape after all the bouncing.

“I am a little bit shorter this week and my discs are not in the best shape right now. That’s not good for longevity. There is no need for us to have long-term injuries. There’s a lot more bruising in the body after the race nowadays. It is taking more of the week to recover and you have to do a lot more to do it,” said Hamilton.

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FIA has decided to intervene and implement a new technical directive to counter the porpoising issue. But they need to act before the issue gets more severe and becomes a safety concern.

Let’s hope that the technical directives can help combat the issue and provide some relief to drivers like Hamilton. Hopefully, porpoising and bouncing concerns get reduced going into the second half of the season.