Lewis Hamilton and George Russell feel like they are driving SPACE HOPPERS due to extreme porpoising, says… – The Sun

FORMULA 1 star George Russell feels like he is driving a SPACE HOPPER due to the extreme bouncing his Mercedes suffers with.

New regulations which came into play this year have seen the way the cars work with regards to aerodynamics completely change, with ‘ground-effects’ being utilised far more.

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Russell, left, celebrates a double podium finish with team-mate Hamilton, right…….

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FORMULA 1 star George Russell feels like he is driving a SPACE HOPPER due to the extreme bouncing his Mercedes suffers with.

New regulations which came into play this year have seen the way the cars work with regards to aerodynamics completely change, with ‘ground-effects’ being utilised far more.

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Russell, left, celebrates a double podium finish with team-mate Hamilton, right.Credit: Getty

A side effect of this has been a phenomenon known as porpoising, which has seen the cars suffer from extreme bouncing.

Mercedes, the team Russell and Lewis Hamilton drive for, have suffered particularly badly with this throughout the season with Hamilton complaining of a bad back in previous races.

Russell revealed what the porpoising felt like to BBC Sport: “It’s kind of like you’re on one of those space hoppers – that’s an extreme version.

“But it’s not cushioned. Then your visibility is becoming quite difficult because you’re shaking around up and down, down the straights.

“I don’t have the answers, but it’s down to the FIA to intervene.

“It’s just totally unnecessary and there’s already enough risk associated with driving 200mph between the streets of Monaco, or Jeddah, or Silverstone.”

Russell, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, has called on the FIA to tackle the matter, revealing the majority of drivers on the grid are in favour of a change to lessen the long-term health impact.

The FIA have said they will be taking action to reduce or eliminate the bouncing, a ruling which has left Ferrari and Red Bull devastated after they managed to crack the code in the new designs with fast cars and less bouncing.

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Last weekend’s French Grand Prix saw Mercedes score their first double podium of the season, with Max Verstappen winning the race following a crash from race leader Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen has extended his championship lead to 63 points following his seventh win of the season.

The Hungarian Grand Prix next weekend represents the final race before the mid-season break.

Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/19343401/hamilton-russell-driving-space-hoppers-porpoising/