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Jean-Claude Migeot, a former F1 aerodynamicist who worked with the Tyrrell team through the ’80s and ’90s, suggests the porpoising issue is not easy to contain. The designer of the iconic Tyrrell DFR-019 believes the problem in Barcelona is only the beginning of a deeper-rooted issue that could be hazardous in the future.
Speaking about finding solutions to porpoising, Migeot said:
“There is very little freedom to find a mechanical solution, given the ban on active suspension. You cannot ignore the optimization of the static forces, which put the car in the best position in every corner. In the area of suspension, an inertia might help, but that is again forbidden. Another invention, such as the skirts, might be helpful. The solution lies in the wind tunnel. It’s looking at these forces and optimizing them together with the static forces. I’m afraid this will take time. We have only seen the tip of the iceberg in Barcelona.”
The 30-year-old problem of porpoising made a return to F1 in Barcelona. Apart from Adrian Newey, however, the newer generation of aerodynamicists do not have experience working with ground effect technology and active suspensions.
Migeot believes active suspensions are one method of containing porpoising, and the other solution is skirts. He, however, believes optimizing the ground effect can be difficult and Barcelona was only the beginning of the issues porpoising can create.
The Frenchman described the pitfalls of porpoising and said:
“Because if you brake hard to overtake, you actually stimulate porpoising. We may see very bad things. I think the FIA will react sooner, especially if no one has the time to find the best solution. Of course I hope I’m wrong, because that can cause nasty surprises.”
Migeot became popular after designing the radical Tyrrell DFR-019 which featured a raised nose, revolutionizing aerodynamics in the sport. He is now one of the few aerodynamicists with experience in ground-effect technology that is featured in the 2022 F1 cars. Migeot hopes the FIA resolves the issue before teams can find a solution, else it could be hazardous.
Former F1 aerodynamicist suggests introducing active suspensions might resolve porpoising
The porpoising problem has been a complaint across the grid during the Barcelona test. Very few teams, however, were able to find an immediate solution to the problem. The Iconic F1 aerodynamicist believes introducing active suspensions might resolve the issue, despite making the cars slower. It must be noted here that active suspension technology was banned from F1 entirely in 1993 citing safety issues.
Commenting on active suspensions and their advantage, Migeot said:
“They trust a lot like the downforce from the bottom, but they took the step out of that completely. That might be the reason. If they add that step back, the downforce goes down and so we’re going to have to deal with slower cars. That might be not quite right, but the least bad at the moment.”
While teams like Ferrari and McLaren have claimed to have resolved the issue, it remains unclear if the phenomenon will be a recurring one. Meanwhile, the Bahrain test commences on March 10, where the teams will have one last run with their new cars before the season kickstarts the following week.
