Daniel Ricciardo had a strong race in Baku despite suffering from the severe physical effects of the new cars' bouncing phenomenon. The McLaren driver was pretty open about the issues that he faced during the grueling race.
The 32-year-old said:
“Obviously, like the compression, you are sore and you feel like you are kind of getting squeezed, so it’s not good. I’m, like, stiff now and painful, but also like getting out of the car – and I’m not exaggerating – I just felt, like, shook, so just, like, a bit rattled. So, it’s not a normal thing, and I think also the frequency, this kind of shaking of the brain and the spine, I don’t think it’s good long-term. It’s one of those ones where we don’t want to be naive or ignorant and just tough it out when there could be some kind of long-term damage.”
Daniel Ricciardo claimed that he felt very stiff, and getting out of the car was not easy as the body was still recovering from the shock it had gone through. The Australian was a bit "rattled" by the shock on his body and said that while drivers could maybe tough it out for a race, one can't do a complete season like this, especially with the risk of the long-term damage it carries.
Carlos Sainz concurs with Daniel Ricciardo's view on the whole porpoising debate
Carlos Sainz was another driver who suffered from the extreme porpoising effects of the 2022 F1 cars. The Ferrari F1-75 also suffers from porpoising and the Spaniard has claimed in the past that bouncing is not ideal for a driver's long-term health.
The Ferrari driver concurred with Daniel Ricciardo's views, saying:
“We kindly asked the FIA to look into it, not listen to the teams so much and to listen to us. We are saying it’s getting to a point where we are struggling to handle this. I don’t think we need a medical commission, we just need something smarter on the suspension or the way the cars are being run. But we need the FIA to act as soon as possible – if not, it will start accumulating.”
Ricciardo and Sainz are just two names on the growing list of drivers who have raised concerns about porpoising being far too risky for their long-term future.