The dangers of the 'ground effect': Why do cars bounce so much this year?

• First day Red Bull and Ferrari seduce in Montmeló

• Ferrari and its creative risks A radical nose and a peculiar 'bathtub'

It took more than 10 hours of activity on the track for the stewards to wave their red flags for the first time in Montmeló.

Shortly before 12:30,

saw how his RB18 stopped at turn 13, due to an engine failure, so the Red Bull staff rushed to the area to collaborate in the removal of the car .

On top of the crane, the Mexican's single-seater returned to the garage wrapped in tarps, out of reach of impertinent glances.

After the lunch break, a fuel pump failure left

stranded on the second sector of the track.

While the Haas was pulled off the asphalt, the Russian arrived at the

in one of the organization's cars.

At that time, nothing was known about Pérez's situation, who would return to the asphalt an hour later.

Red Bull could not give up the 90 minutes of testing that still remained on the clock and the Mexican ended up rushing until the last moment, testing the exits at the end of the

.

The second day of testing in Montmeló once again offered signs of hope at Ferrari.

, with the best time (1:19.689) prolonged

's dominance during the morning and the 150 laps between the two boosted the

in this section, the most relevant during the preseason.

The debut of

, the first Chinese driver in F1 history, coincided with the anecdotal last place of

, who could only complete 40 laps, the third worst record of the day.

From Haas to Mercedes

However, above any qualifying details, one of the factors that continues to attract the most attention is the striking rattle of the cars in the fast zones.

Haas, the worst team on the grid, admitted on Wednesday that they were unable to break 250 km/h on the finish straight, while Alfa Romeo dragged

's obvious problems on the ground .

Even more powerful teams, such as Alpine or Aston Martin, up to Mercedes, suffered from these uncomfortable swings.

terminology

, this phenomenon is known as

, although it had been out of use for some time.

In fact, its maximum popularity came in the 1980s, in the years when it still resisted the so-called

.

With the regulatory revolution, which once again enhances the ground as one of the keys to generating downforce,

is now back in full force.

"We are looking for the middle ground. Not to lower the car too much, so that it does not touch the ground, nor leave it too high, because if it does not lose too much load," explained

,

Haas'

"Controlling this issue will be key and at the moment those who do it best are Ferrari and McLaren," admitted

, Mercedes chief plenipotentiary.

The tests were in evidence on the Montmeló asphalt, with noticeable scratches even in areas of fast curves.

For decades, pilots have not sat so close to the asphalt.

If we add to that the increase in the size of the wheels, which have gone on to measure 18 inches, acclimatization can be quite tricky.

"It's less visible and it's a bit more difficult to drive. We'll have to get used to it and find new references. There will always be blind spots in the car, so we'll have to use a lot of intuition in close combat," explained

.

Second test day

Classification and times

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) |

1:19,689 |

C3 |

79 laps

2. Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) |

1:19.918 |

C4 |

147 laps

3. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) |

1:20,288 |

C4 |

126 laps

4. George Russell (Mercedes) |

1:20,537 |

C3 |

66 laps

5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) |

1:20,546 |

C3 |

71 laps

6. S. Vettel (Aston Martin) |

1:20,784 |

C3 |

74 laps

7. Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) |

1:21,430 |

C2 |

78 laps

8. Nikita Mazepin (Haas) |

1:21,512 |

C3 |

42 laps

9. A. Albon (Williams) |

1:21,531 |

C3 |

47 laps

10. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo) |

1:21,885 |

C3 |

71 laps

11. Nicholas Latifi (Williams) |

1:21,894 |

C3 |

61 laps

12. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) |

1:21,920 |

C2 |

55 laps

13. Mick Schumacher (Haas) |

1:21,949 |

C3 |

66 laps

14. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) |

1:22.164 |

C3 |

125 laps

15. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) |

1:22,288 |

C3 |

21 laps

16. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) |

1:22,562 |

C2 |

40 laps

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Know more

• Carlos Sainz Jr.

• HBPR

• Mercedes GP

• Daniel Ricciardo

• McLaren F1

Formula 1 Red Bull and Ferrari seduce at the premiere

Formula 1The unusual preseason blackout: Why does F1 silence the Montmeló tests?

Formula 1Ferrari and its creative risks: a radical nose and a particular 'bathtub'

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