The concerning human cost of porpoising that F1 overlooked

Last month our cover feature on Mercedes’ various woes made it very clear that the porpoising phenomenon was well-known in the previous era of ground-effect aerodynamics. Another troubling historic consequence of generating downforce through underbody airflow is now coming into focus: its effect on driver health.

In 1982, the peak of the last ground-effect era, teams ran their cars as low and stiff as possible in order to attain peak downforce and reduce pitch sensitivity. Williams even went so far as testing an FW08 at Paul Ricard with no suspension movement (rumours abounded that the Lotus 91 would feature no suspension at all, though this didn’t come to pass). Alan Jones, the world champion, quickly identified that while the performance gain was worthwhile, some way would have to be found to mitigate the physical effects on the driver.

“Perhaps you could sit on your wallet, Alan,” said Frank Williams.

“You’d have to give me something to put in it first,” rejoined Jones.

The lap time gain at like-for-like circuits from 1981 to ’82 was huge, an order of whole seconds – more than can be accounted for by tyre and engine development and more potent fuels. But the cars were difficult and uncomfortable to operate – so much so that drivers would complete races in a state of exhaustion, or sometimes not finish at all. Patrick Tambay suffered what was described as a pinched nerve in his shoulder, causing him to pull out of the Swiss GP after qualifying in order to maximise his chances of being fit to perform in front of Ferrari’s home crowd at Monza.

After a miserable year punctuated by grotesque accidents the FIA brought in the flat-bottom regulations which practically eliminated ground effect, and enabled suspension settings to return to normality.

Patrick Tambay suffered what was described as a pinched nerve in his shoulder as a result of the low, stiff ground-effect cars

Photo by: Motorsport Images

In raiding the ground-effect closet to rebalance responsibility for downforce production away from wings, modern F1 has done more than just reintroduce porpoising. The cars have to run stiffer once more to mitigate the bouncing effect, and chassis set-ups are cruder because exotic means of controlling suspension movement have also been outlawed, in the name of controlling costs and improving competition. Already the drivers are feeling the impact.

As early as the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, George Russell – among the fittest of the Generation Z cohort – was complaining of unusual aches and pains. “This is the first weekend I’ve truly been struggling with my back, and almost like chest pains from the severity of the bouncing,” he said. “It’s just what we have to do to go and do the fastest laps.”

"Do we need to run as stiff for our necks and back as we are having to run lately, with this car mass?" Carlos Sainz

Even relatively smooth circuits feature kerbs which have to be ridden at speed, which puts a potentially injurious jolt through the occupant’s spine. “We need to think as drivers and F1 how much of a toll a driver should be paying for his back and his health in an F1 career with this kind of car philosophy,” said Carlos Sainz before the Spanish GP. “We need to open the debate.

“Do we need to run as stiff for our necks and back as we are having to run lately, with this car mass? It’s more a philosophical question that I put out there, maybe for F1 to rethink about how much the driver needs to actually pay a price in his career with his health, in order to combat this.”

There will, of course, be those who say F1 drivers are paid well to do their jobs, and that they should get on and do them. But should sportspeople suffer long-term for our entertainment? That’s a question being asked in rugby and even football at the moment, where the effects of concussion are at last being widely considered. Given the lawsuits brewing in that space, F1 would do well to start allocating resources towards welfare as well as wow factor.

George Russell has complained of unusual aches and pains since the start of the season

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images