FLOYD ON F1: Russia pays price for invasion of Ukraine

The FIA Formula 1 World Championship visits countries all over the world to unite people and bring nations together.

“We are watching the developments in Ukraine with sadness and shock and hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to the present situation.

“On Thursday evening Formula 1, the FIA, and the teams discussed the position of our sport, and the conclusion was, that it is impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances.”

This brief statement issued by the FIA on the morning of the final test session at Barcelona, confirmed that the 2022 Sochi Grand Prix will not go ahead.

It was followed by a team statement saying. “Haas F1 Team will present its VF-22 in a plain white livery, minus Uralkali branding, for the third and final day of track running at Circuit de Barcelona on Friday 25 February.

‘‘Nikita Mazepin will drive as planned in the morning session with Mick Schumacher taking over in the afternoon. No further comment will be made at this time regarding team partner agreements.”

These statements followed the tragic news of the armed confrontation between Russia and the Ukraine, the effects of which will resonate around the globe and affect us all in some way. A sad state of affairs.

Strange to think while this was happening many of us led our normal lives and followed the first F1 test in Spain. Scant information was issued and whether the times are of any real relevance we will only know at Bahrain GP.

Most of the drivers during the testing remarked on a peculiar phenomenon in the new cars’ handling characteristics and it was a common issue with the original ground effect cars of several decades ago.

It has been named the “porpoising” problem and is best seen when observing a frontal view of the car on a high speed straight when it appears to be bouncing – because that is exactly what it is doing.

The ground effect of the underside of the car creates a vacuum which sucks the car down onto the road, increasing grip.

However, it reaches a point where the floor makes contact with the track surface and momentarily breaks the vacuum, losing downforce and allowing the car to rise on its suspension, but only for a very short time as the airflow under the car immediately sucks it down again, until contact with the track starts the entire cycle again.

This creates a major problem with cars’ performance. Intermittent suspension height variation seriously influences the cars’ handling predictability, plus being a very unpleasant sensation for the driver.

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto said teams underestimated the problem, while Mercedes’ George Russell believed it was a safety concern. There must be serious burning of the midnight oil back at the factories.