George Russell’s flooring damaged by dolphin behavior
The first free practice session at Imola did not go well for George Russell. The driver struggled with the bumpy track at the Italian circuit, to the point of damaging the floor of his W13.
The Mercedes cars were roughed up during the free practice sessions on Friday. According to Toto Wolff, the team principal of the racing team, the issues encountered were due to porpoising and the tires. On one hand, the W13s were unable to accelerate to their maximum potential in the straight line of the pit lane without experiencing the bounces imposed by porpoising. On the other hand, the tire warming process was very complex and, according to the Austrian, is the reason behind the enormous gap between Mercedes and Ferrari in these trials.
Toto Wolff spoke about the issues that the W13s are experiencing at Imola. George was bouncing so much that the floor reinforcement was broken, lamented Wolff. We cannot drive [in the pit straight], we need to lift off during that straight, he added.
The metal reinforcements of the W13 were installed for the first time during the Barcelona tests. Mercedes chose to introduce a completely different concept in Bahrain due to the FIA’s ban on these parts. However, the governing body changed its mind shortly after in order to minimize porpoising, as these reinforcements make the car’s floor more rigid.
If the drivers are « trained », Toto Wolff acknowledged that it was impossible to drive under such conditions and that he had never experienced such bounces.
