Porpoising at Mercedes gets out of hand; Russell struggles with back pain

Mercedes has not yet solved the porpoising problem. According to George Russell, meanwhile, it's getting out of hand. His car bumps so hard that it left him with chest and back pain after the Imola race.

The problem at Mercedes is so big that not only do they have to sacrifice a lot of speed on the track, but the situation threatens to become untenable for the drivers. Russell indicated this after the race weekend at Imola. The team that invariably won the constructors' title in recent years has not built a good car this winter. For the time being, the team led by Toto Wolff has not been able to solve the big problems either.

Russell raises the alarm

Other teams, including Ferrari, also continue to suffer from porpoising. The main problem at Mercedes is that the bump becomes too severe at high speed and the car needs a lot of time to stabilize afterwards. Lewis Hamilton and Russell therefore sometimes had to lift on the straight and also brake a lot earlier than, for example, the Ferraris to get their cars stable in time for the corner.

In conversation with The-Race.com Russell talks about the consequences of the bouncing: "The bouncing really leaves you breathless. I've never experienced it so extreme. I really hope we find a solution, because this is not a sustainable situation for the drivers at this point."

Russell has to go through a pain barrier for his fastest laps: "This is the first weekend where I'm really struggling with back and chest pain because of the intense bumpiness. But this is what we have to do to get the fastest times out of the car."