Consider being an athlete at the top of your game, and a single error could reveal all the covert preparations you undertook to obtain your well-earned accomplishments. Perhaps the first feeling that comes to mind is a sense of threat. This is precisely what has happened with Red Bull, who has enjoyed a dominating run ever since the rules were changed last year. A serious question might be going through your mind as well “How?” So it all attributes to Monaco GP where Sergio Perez‘s single error might put the Austrian team in danger since Lewis Hamilton claims to possess a Red Bull’s secret.
Max Verstappen once again displayed his mastery of the track in winning the race at Monaco. However, two teams—Mercedes and Red Bull—remained at the forefront in terms of technicality. Why? It happened as a result of Sergio Perez’s crash just seven minutes into Saturday’s qualifying session when he missed his braking point into turn 1 and collided with the barriers and Lewis Hamilton’s late crash at FP3.
Nico Rosberg:
"I spoke to two people from two different aero departments. Their biggest focus in the last week has been to try and dissect those Red Bull pictures from Monaco, courtesy of Sergio Perez' crash."
"They [possibly Mercedes] have had people really dedicating their… pic.twitter.com/WXmFHvdTQI
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) June 3, 2023
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However, what caught the attention was the hanging RB19. When track marshals had to lift the Red Bull gun (RB19) with cranes, as is usual in Monaco, the situation deteriorated further for the Austrian Outfit. While the action proceeded, the spectators and, more importantly, the opposing team peeped into Red Bull’s bottom (revealing the entire floor design), which is one of the biggest secrets concealing the majority of the explanations for their dominance.
Just like any other rival team and the crowd, Mercedes’ driver Lewis Hamilton also carried out the necessary task of taking a photograph of the underbelly. The seven-time champion allegedly claimed to have Red Bull’s secret on his phone. According to a TV Presentation Rosanna Tenant, who spoke on the F1: Chequered Flag Podcast claims Hamilton has made jokes about having images of the RB19 floor.
In the middle of all the debate, the former Mercedes driver has emerged to explain how Sergio Perez’s mistake will benefit Mercedes. While speaking with the 2016 champion Nico Rosberg for Sky Sports, he said, “Naturally, Mercedes have an incredible team of engineers and now the images from Monaco will help a lot because thanks to Sergio’s accident there are beautiful images of the underbody of the car.”
While adding further, he said, “Now they can build on those images to create an entire computer-aided design (CAD) model and make a computer-accurate blueprint of how the car actually looks. In this way it is very easy to start understanding and learning about the RB19.”
Red Bull is currently at the peak of its game since the team is the fastest in straight lines and has drivers like Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. However, now that the secret has spilled, what does the fiercest adversary of Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, has to say?
What Max Verstappen has to say regarding Lewis Hamilton’s claims of knowing Red Bull’s secret?
Max Verstappen has maintained his form since the start of the season. In Barcelona, he won his fifth race of the calendar year, bringing his total to 40 victories. And in the sport when the car plays a crucial role in maintaining supremacy, as we have seen in the case with Mercedes, the Dutchman remains unconcerned about the Red Bull floor image being leaked.
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🗣️ | Max says Red Bull will have a new floor in a few races, and thus is not worried about other F1 teams copying them
"This is our floor now, but in a few races we will have a new floor again. That one will be completely different again. It won't matter that much." pic.twitter.com/lr3ca7yG5k
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) June 6, 2023
A tweet surfacing the internet was found having the statement of the double champion where he said, “Of course, it’s not great, but on the other hand the other teams are not stupid either. Even if they were to copy it completely, that doesn’t fit the philosophy of their car. You then still have to adjust a lot of things. That’s the same for us: we can’t put someone else’s sidepod on, that’s just not how the car works.”
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Do you think the Silver Arrows’ use of the Red Bull Floor as inspiration will help them compete fiercely against the current champions?