Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has revealed that Fernando Alonso is the only driver who does not see the “porpoising” phenomenon as an issue.
The bouncing on the straight caused by the new ground effect aerodynamics looked at its worst yet in Baku, particularly for Mercedes, whose seven-time champion driver Sir Lewis Hamilton suffered intense back pain during the race.
McLaren have generally not experienced the problem yet, but even Daniel Ricciardo began to feel the impact on Sunday, and there is concern among some of the drivers that the constant heavy impacts between the floor and the track surface are soon going to start causing some serious health issues.
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Wolff indicated that Alonso is the only one who does not feel as though this will be the case.
“All drivers got together and agreed that it’s a problem – apart from one: Alonso,” he told Sky Sports Netherlands.
Hamilton’s pain during the race was so bad that Wolff conceded that there is a chance the Briton may not make it to the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend, and he emphasised that the impact is having an effect on the spine itself rather than the muscles around it.
“You can see that this isn’t muscular anymore. This goes properly into the spine and can have some consequences,” said the Austrian.
“He’s really bad and we’ve just got to find a solution.
“At this stage, he [Hamilton] is maybe the worst affected of all drivers but pretty much everyone, as far as I understand from the drivers, has said that something needs to happen, but I couldn’t give you an explanation of what that is.”
The 37-year-old recovered from seventh to fourth for Mercedes as George Russell got his third podium of the season in third.
The bottoming out on the car is so bad that it is costing Mercedes an abundance of time on the straight to Ferrari and Red Bull, so if the Brackley-based side can extinguish the problem, they can start fighting for wins.
“That’s the only thing, just biting down on my teeth through pain and just adrenaline,” Hamilton told Sky Sports.
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“I can’t express the pain that you experience, particularly on the straight here, and at the end you’re just praying for it to end.
“We’re in such a good position still, third and fourth is a great result for the team.
“The team did a great job with the strategy and once we fix this bouncing we’re going to be right there in the race.
“But we were losing for sure over a second with bouncing, or at least a second with bouncing, so I’ll be at the factory tomorrow.
“We got to have some good discussions and keep pushing.”
Mercedes have Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne spare should either Russell or Hamilton be unable to make any races this year.