After coming off a brilliant performance in Barcelona, Mercedes had a tough couple of sessions on Friday ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix. The Silver Arrows recently found a solution to their proposing troubles, and the W13’s pace was much better in Spain. However, the German racing seemed to face some bouncing issues on several occasions. But, Lewis Hamilton revealed that it was due to the Circuit de Monaco’s bumpiness and assured that the porpoising issue did not return.
Hamilton and George Russell finished P5 and P3 in Barcelona. But things were completely different on Friday at the Monaco street circuit as the Mercedes drivers faced a fair share of difficulties. Lewis secured 10th and 12th while Rusell finished eighth and sixth during the due Friday practice sessions.
After Friday’s practice, Hamilton talked about Mercedes’ troubling day in Monaco. The seven-time world champ claimed that it was the bumpiest track he had ever seen and driven on. Moreover, he pointed out that the W13 was quiet, and it bounced a lot. Lewis clarified that the bouncing was different from what the Silver Arrows had encountered in the past. Further, the Mercedes driver thought that the bouncing was due to low speeds and not an aerodynamic issue. He added, “I think the bumps on the tracks are making it worse.
Russell Revales The W13’s Bouncing Troubles
George Russell was also concerned about the W13’s response to the track. The 24-year-old revealed that there were times when the W13’s both front wheels were off the ground. Moreover, he explained that the front right tyre was in the air at turn 4. It was so stiff that the front left wheel also went off the ground.
The Mercedes driver added there were points when the W13 was almost doing a wheelie with both front tyres off the ground. Russell was unsure what more his team could do with the car. He assures that Mercedes were doing everything to make the car a bit easier to drive and provide the drivers with more confidence. The Briton was also hopeful that the engineering team could come up with a solution overnight to have a better session on Saturday.
Hamilton Feels Current Generation Cars Are Different From His Monaco GP Memories
Talking about the W13’s bouncing in Monaco, Lewis said that it was different from the bouncing before, with a different kind of feel. The Briton felt a hundred bumps on just one square. He was not sure if other drivers felt the same as Mercedes drivers. Lewis added, “But it’s the bumpiest roller coaster ride.”
Hamilton also stated that the current generation of cars felt completely different from how he remembered his previous race experiences in Monaco. He has won three races at the Monte Carlo circuit in his career. Reminiscing his first race at Monaco, he had a “light nimble car,” which was much better than the super heavier cars in 2022.
Moreover, Lewis mentioned that cars are heavier than before, and the braking zones are different as well. The 37-year-old was unhappy that the tracks were not smooth after being resurfaced and felt like the technology was against them. Hamilton further revealed that running a lap was quite difficult in the first sessions. However, the Briton felt better putting a lap after some improvements were made between sessions.
The street circuit in Monaco requires the utmost levels of concentration with many twists and turns. Hamilton felt like his eyeballs were coming out of the sockets. He said that Mercedes had a lot of work to do overnight to try and fix the bouncing issues. Lewis had already anticipated that the Silver Arrows would not be as quick as Ferrari and Red Bulls. The former world champ thinks that Mercedes’ battle was to try and stay ahead of McLaren during the weekend.