Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was seen having to wrestle his car as it was bounced around by the track surface during free practice at the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The “porpoising” issue has been posed by the new technical regulations as the ground effect aerodynamics put the car right down onto the floor, causing to violently bounce off the circuit.
During the first free practice session in Jeddah, Sainz’s Ferrari was visibly undulating on its way into Turn 13, prompting him to feed his issues back to the team on the pit wall.
“[There’s] a lot of bouncing guys,” he said on the radio.
READ: ‘Easy gains’: Mercedes set to close gap to Ferrari and Red Bull in next two races
Former Formula 1 driver Johnny Herbert noted that, conversely, the Ferrari cars did not seem to be suffering from much “proposing” in Bahrain.
“In Bahrain, we didn’t see it. In Bahrain, that didn’t really seem to be there, they seemed to absorb the bumps,” he said on Sky Sports.
“There are different types of bumps in Bahrain, there’re sort of singular bumps in many respects whereas that is unbelievable.”
Reporter and commentator Natalie Pinkham noted that the Spaniard’s “eyes are out on stalks,” with Herbert replying “well I’m not surprised when he’s been bounced around like that.”
Interestingly, the 27-year-old’s team-mate, Charles Leclerc, did not appear to have the same issue, as he went fastest in both sessions, setting 17 laps in the process.
He did, however, hit the barrier in the first sector towards the end of the second session, breaking a steering rod and ending his evening early.
READ: F1 CEO says ‘potential’ for 30-race season, warns some grand prix at risk of being axed
Max Verstappen ended both sessions less than two tenths of a second adrift of the Monegasque, while Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas ending FP2 third after noting in the press conference that he is “very happy with my Ferrari engine.”
Mercedes managed a time good enough only for fifth in FP2, as Sir Lewis Hamilton ended the evening half a second off Leclerc’s pace.