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Porpoising has proven to be a massive issue for several drivers as a result of the new 2022 regulations and design changes, but Charles Leclerc seems unbothered by it.
In a post-race interaction, the Monegasque acknowledged that he does feel it in the car and that it is an issue that needs to be resolved quickly. Emphasizing, however, that he is not too sensitive to it, Leclerc said:
“Actually, it was… I mean, I don’t know why, but I am not very sensitive to it. And it looks extremely bad on the on-boards. Of course, I feel it. But yeah, it doesn’t disturb me too much in terms of performance, just for Turn 9, maybe a little bit, because it’s just tricky. It’s bouncing a lot. But it’s definitely something we want to tackle because it doesn’t help us for consistency, especially sometimes once you have bouncing in a corner, it can be a problem.”
Charles Leclerc comfortably led the 58-lap Australian Grand Prix from start to finish despite the issue. Revealing that porpoising was not much of a bother during the race, he said:
“So, we need to work on that. But today, it wasn’t an issue. Or, I couldn’t have gone faster if I didn’t have the bouncing. For the restart, it was a bit tricky, because I had it before Turn 1. So, you’re never as confident to just brake extremely hard for Turn 1. But everything went well. It was just not so… yeah, not so comfortable to do 58 laps like this.”
While Ferrari seem to be managing the issue well enough, reigning world champions Mercedes have complained of problems with porpoising on several occasions.
"It doesn't matter to me that much" - Charles Leclerc on his first F1 Grand Slam
Charles Leclerc achieved the first Grand Slam or Grand Chelem for Ferrari since 2010 at the Australian Grand Prix last weekend.
When asked what such records and statistics mean to the Monegasque, he made it very clear that the only thing that matters is achieving the maximum points possible from every race. He said:
“Not really. At the end what matters is that I crossed the finish line first at the end, then obviously it’s always nicer and it shows how good of a job we’ve done until now, especially this weekend, with a statistic like this. But yeah, it doesn’t matter to me that much.”
Charles Leclerc now has a significant lead in the drivers' standings ahead of Mercedes' George Russell with a 34-point difference.
