McLaren claims porpoising will not 'be much of a topic' as 2022 F1 season progresses

McLaren F1 technical director James Key recently claimed that he does not expect porpoising to remain a topic of conversation as the season gets underway. He feels most teams will come up with viable solutions to deal with the phenomenon within five to six races.

As reported by PlanetF1, Key spoke of his expectations from teams regarding porpoising over the course of the 2022 season. He said:

“There is something to learn. I am sure it is something that everyone will get on top of. It is a topic because it is very visible, but ultimately there will be solutions there between the set up the aerodynamic development, where you discover how to manage it. I do not think it’ll be much of a topic after the first five or six races.”

He further said:

“We have experienced a little bit of that [porpoising]. We have seen on most cars that it is obviously a factor of the ground effect car which is extremely sensitive to ride height.”

Drivers and teams were introduced to porpoising in the first session of pre-season testing in Barcelona. Many drivers have gone on to express their concerns over the occurrence.

Meanwhile, the second session of pre-season testing is set to begin on March 10 in Bahrain. The tests will give teams a better idea of where they stand going into the season and the aspects of their cars that still require significant tweaking.

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Haas F1 technical director on struggles of bringing car down to minimum weight

Despite a rise in the minimum weight permitted for F1 cars by 43kg this season, several teams seem to be struggling to meet these limits. The weight limit has increased from 752kg last year to 795kg this year. Haas technical director Simone Resta recently revealed that the team will be better prepared to understand where it stands in this aspect at the end of the Bahrain testing session.

As reported by The Race, Resta said:

“We will have a better idea at the end of test two when we try to put together a car in the best way. You take it to the bare minimum of what you need to do to go racing. You do your trade-offs and then try to refine the spec for the race. [After test two], we’ll probably have a better take about where we are in that respect.”

Haas finished last in the 2021 constructors' championship. With the change around them in the driver lineup and sponsorships, it is safe to assume that the team has a long road to success ahead of it.