Fernando Alonso has said that F1 teams aren't likely to come together and agree upon a solution that could reduce porpoising, as not every team is encountering it to the same extent. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend saw several drivers, such as Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo, and Pierre Gasly, all complain about the extent of the car porpoising in light of the implications on their long-term health. Hamilton, in particular, struggled to climb from his car at the end of the race and team boss Toto Wolff initially suggested the damage could be severe enough to prevent the seven-time World Champion from taking part in this week's race in Canada.
Alonso: Mutual agreement will be difficult
While there appears to be a consensus that "something" needs to be done, such as a mandatory raising of ride heights, to force teams to make a change to reduce porpoising, it's unlikely that every team will vote for such a rule given that some teams have performance without the same level of bounce - such as Red Bull, or Alpine. The French team's A522 has proven to be one of the least affected cars on the grid, with Alonso saying it wasn't a major concern for Alpine throughout the weekend. "Our car is quite good at managing the bouncing effect of this year’s cars," he said in his official preview ahead of the race in Montreal. "I didn’t feel it too much in Baku and we were more focused on managing tyre degradation, especially of the rear tyres. "It’s going to be different at each circuit, for example in Jeddah it was very smooth, and Australia as well, and nobody said anything there. "It’s going to be very difficult for all of the teams to agree on change."
Alonso: We maximised our result
Alonso brought home his car in seventh place in Azerbaijan after keeping up pressure on Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel throughout, with the A522 proving stable down the long straights of the Baku City Circuit. This was despite the Alpine being one of the quickest cars in a straight line, as he was able to defend against the McLarens behind. "It was a decent result for us to finish seventh," he said. "I feel like we maximised our car and the opportunities presented to us by the retirements of other cars. We had to manage the tyres carefully especially with the lower downforce setup we had. "But it meant we were quite protected in the straights and we could make up some ground after the pitstop and defend quite comfortably to the McLarens behind at the end of the race. "We still need to better understand our car and why we are experiencing differences from Friday through to Sunday."
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