Mercedes say ‘porpoising’ modification will not be raced in Canada

MONTREAL –

Mercedes saidA temporary modification they attempted to solve their car’s porpoising’ problem did not work and was not approved for Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix.

Rivals had raised concerns over the use of a second stiffening stick to the floor of their car by struggling champions, with Otmar Zzafnauer, boss of the Alpine team suggesting that it could even be protested following the race.

They were curious as to how Mercedes was able produce the part so quickly, when the governing FIA had only sent out a technical directive on Thursday that sought to reduce the bouncing phenomenon for safety reasons.

“We made something in the field as best we could, in response to the TD, but it’s not effective and won’t stay on the cars,” a Mercedes spokesman told Reuters when asked about the second stay.

Lewis Hamilton, seven-times world champion saidAfter Friday’s practice, when he ran a different setup from George Russell, he declared that his Mercedes was “a catastrophe” and that the car was getting worse.

He stated, “We tried a brand new floor for my car this morning and it didn’t really go well. It seems that a lot things we try on this vehicle don’t work.” said then.

“No matter what we do to make this car better, it’s still miserable. But we must keep at it. It is what it is. A simple touch here and the car will fly. It’s so stiff that it’s worth riding the kerbs in Montreal.

“It is not the Montreal that it’s used to and that’s how I’ve driven all my career, it’s worse than any car I’ve ever felt here,” he said.

“You’re putting on a monumental fight just to keep the car out of the wall. You’re catching cars that are jumping, it definitely keeps your on edge — we raised it but it didn’t really make any difference.”

Hamilton has set a Montreal record for winning seven times. Friday’s second practice saw Hamilton finish 13th.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; editing by Pritha Sakar)