Another qualifying, another disappointment for Mercedes! Lewis Hamilton and George Russell have really been struggling this season to find their true pace in the 2022 cars. It is the porpoising issue that has hampered their progress and performance in the new cars. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff mentioned that the issue got so bad in Imola that George Russell had to lift on the straights.

And not only Mercedes, but teams like Ferrari also faced extreme porpoising on the straights during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix qualifying.

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Especially for Mercedes, this issue hampered their opportunities to set a decent time on board. Both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell struggled to get out of Q1 but did so by the skin of their truth. And eventually went out in Q2 as Russell finished P11 and Hamilton in P13.

Toto Wolff reveals the seriousness of porpoising for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell

Mercedes team principal revealed that W13 is very much suffering from porpoising on the straights. He also mentioned how their porpoising issue is different from Ferrari’s and why they can’t get on top of the issue. He mentioned it is Russell who has to face the brunt of the issue and not Hamilton in the W13.

“Lewis’ porpoising is not the worst actually. We had George bouncing so much that he broke the stay on the floor. We have to lift on the straights. I have never experienced bouncing like this in my life. It’s undriveable,” said Wolff.

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Taking about the rivals at Ferrari, the Mercedes team principal said, “Their porpoising looks a little bit different to ours. Our frequency looks higher and the main difference is that when they hit the brakes, the car stabilizes and ours does not.”

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The German team really needs to overcome their issue to progress in the 2022 championship. It is difficult for the fans to see the Silver Arrows not fighting at the top of the field against Ferrari and Red Bull this season.

With every race weekend, they’re getting much further from their goal of being competitive. As things stand, Mercedes might soon have to shift their priorities for the season from fighting for the championship to finishing the best of the rest.