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Early F1 Struggles Had Daniel Ricciardo & Co. Thinking of NBA Titan Stephen Curry for This Odd Reason

Published 12/11/2022, 6:40 AM EST

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The porpoising issue has taken over the F1 world and has affected the performance graph drastically for many teams. However, the F1 world has been split in their opinions on this subject. Some have been speaking from the safety standpoint, whilst others believe the solution lies within the team and can easily be fixed.

Mercedes men, Lewis Hamilton, and George Russell, have been pointing out the excessive porpoising that they had been facing in their W-13 through most of the year of 2022. George fears that the consistent porpoising would have long-term neurological repercussions. In hindsight, the former McLaren man, Daniel Ricciardo also had his share of the unpleasant experience.

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Post the race for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Australian shared his anguish, and explained that he was in absolute pain. He said, “I dread to feel what the others felt because honestly, today was bad. I really struggled.”

Referring to the Golden State Warriors basket-ball player, Steph Curry, and his phenomenal dribbling and ball handling skills, Ricciardo felt like his basket ball- played and beaten to the punch.

He said, “It was, simply putting it, painful. It’s painful–but I guess like, unnatural. It’s literally like someone’s bouncing you like that, like a pro basketball player when they get the ball really low. [It was like] being dribbled, being professionally dribbled by [NBA player] Stephen Curry or something.”

He further urged that there indeed should be a solution to this. Ricciardo claimed that some drivers have had it worse- referring to Lewis and George. He further added that he couldn’t begin to fathom their agony, since all he experienced that day was pain.

Taking a step forward, FIA has introduced a rather minor change in the floor regulations for the upcoming season.

FIA tweaked the flexi-floor regulations for the season of 2023

Post the consistent troubles faced by the F1 drivers, FIA took it upon themselves to make a change that would help the teams put their best foot forward in the upcoming season.

via Reuters

Even though the new regulations are just a tiny tweak on the floor plan, it will allow more height for the cars, which may provide a short-term solution for the teams and their drivers.

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The FIA states that this introduction may not solve the issues of porpoising altogether, however, it would relatively feel lesser than it did the year prior.

The technical director of FIA, Nikolas Tombazis, said, “No doubt we did the right thing. We tried to find a pragmatic, short-term solution and a medium-term solution.”

“It won’t necessarily dissipate [porpoising] completely, but it will be a step less,” he said, in conclusion.

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Watch This Story: Donuts galore at Abu Dhabi GP as Vettel joins Ricciardo Verstappen and more in entertaining the crowds 

Would the new regulations make any difference to the drivers in the coming season? Would it aid maximum speed and yet succeed in securing their health as well?

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Written by:

Nida Chakraborty

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Nida Chakraborty is a Formula 1 Author at EssentiallySports. After completing her undergrad from St Xavier's College with a degree in Psychology, she had gone on to take up multiple journalistic ventures in Radio and Television. Not only has she been a producer for Fever 104 FM, one of India's leading FM radio stations, but she has also worked for MTV and Channel V.
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Edited by:

Varunkumaar Chelladurai