Valtteri Bottas does not share Mercedes driver's concerns on 'porpoising'

After Mercedes driver George Russell voiced his concerns about porpoising in F1, Valtteri Bottas was not under the impression that the phenomenon could be a safety issue for F1 drivers.

For the uninitiated, porpoising is a phenomenon that causes F1 cars to violently bounce up and down on their rear suspensions at near top speeds – imitating the motion that porpoises make when moving through the ocean, hence the name. Watch:

Russell, who replaced Bottas at Mercedes this season, spoke to the media during pre-season testing in Barcelona. The 24-year-old Briton felt porpoising “has the potential to be a real safety concern” for drivers. Bottas, however, harbors a different opinion.

When asked to share his thoughts on the matter, the 32-year-old said:

“For now I don’t think it’s a safety issue. I think it’s just the way that the aero of the car works. Obviously it’s a fact that the lower you go with the car, the more you have downforce. And if you find a way to have a good ride in the car, being able to run it low, you might gain some performance. But obviously in some places [that comes] with a cost of the ride itself, especially in high speeds and over the bumps.”

Bottas, one of the most successful Mercedes drivers in the history of F1, went on to add, saying:

“So it’s quite an interesting new philosophy on the aero side of the car. I don’t think it’s going to be a big concern. As a team we need to work around it and we need to make sure that the car is reliable enough for these regulations and it’s the same case for every team.”

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Valtteri Bottas feels it was “natural” for Mercedes to replace him with George Russell

Valtteri Bottas felt it was "natural" for Mercedes to pick George Russell as his successor at the Silver Arrows.

Bottas joined Mercedes after the shock retirement of 2016 F1 world champion Nico Rosberg. The Finn went on to forge one of the most successful partnerships in F1 with Lewis Hamilton during his stint with the team.

When asked about Russell as the Briton embarks on a new chapter in his F1 career, Bottas said:

“Obviously, it was very natural to get George (Russell) in the car, because he’s been kind of part of the team for a long time. It’s a new generation, and that’s also how the sport is evolving. The team, they’ve had this Young Driver Program and George has been in that for a long time. And for them to waste that opportunity, in case he obviously still develops further and becomes more experienced, and even quicker, they didn’t want to miss the opportunity. So, for me, it’s all good. For me, I’m really happy.”

Meanwhile, Bottas has since confirmed he plans to build a new partnership at Alfa Romeo with rookie driver Guanyu Zhou. He further hopes to be a mentor for the young Chinese driver in 2022.