Andrea Stella, Mike Krack and Frédéric Vasseur of McLaren, Aston Martin and Ferrari respectively, discussed the widely shared images of Red Bull’s RB19 floor as well as the development of those around them at today’s team bosses press conference.
Following a Q1 crash at Sainte Devote last weekend in Monaco for Sergio Perez, images showing the underside of his RB19 while the car was recovered by crane have been widely shared online. With the current generation of Formula 1 cars getting a substantial portion of their downforce via underfloor aerodynamics, it is safe to say they will have caught the attention of teams up and down the grid.
“I spent some time…” -Stella
When asked during the team principal press conference ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella admits that he himself has taken some time to scrutinise the Red Bull design, while the aerodynamics team at Woking will be delving deeper into the images.
“Myself personally, I spent some time,” said Stella. “But the one hundred aerodynamicists at McLaren will be spending a little bit more time. It’s very interesting indeed and also shows the complexity of and the quality of the development.
“So to be honest, when I saw it, I said ‘hat off to Red Bull’. I can understand they have this kind of performance.”
“It’s quite difficult, or even impossible…”
Following Stella’s comments, Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur noted that it is not as simple as just copying the Red Bull design. While their floor may be a key area of performance, it works in tandem with the rest of their car design.
“I think that we all have a lot of pictures of the other cars,” he joked. “But then, it’s quite difficult, or even impossible to try to copy something because it’s more a global concept than something else. You can’t copy just one part of the car.”
“We are always looking at the competitors…”
Mike Krack of Aston Martin, meanwhile, had little to say on the matter. Although he agreed with Vasseur’s comment that every team is constantly looking at the others around them, he had little else to add to what his peers had said.
“Yeah, nothing more to add,” admitted Krack. “We are always looking at the competitors, what is new. New parts were at the front of the Ferrari garage this morning. It’s always the same.”
While Vasseur and Krack did not confirm their team’s are actively looking into the Red Bull floor, it is safe to assume both teams have at least examined the photos to analyse any room for improvements in their own individual designs.
