Helmut Marko challenges Mercedes amidst their confirmed attempts at copying Red Bull rocketship’s floor

Red Bull’s consultant Helmut Marko claims that nobody was interested in the W14 after their floor was revealed at the Monaco Grand Prix

Helmut Marko challenges Mercedes amidst their confirmed attempts at copying Red Bull rocketship’s floor

Red Bull, without any question, has been the most dominant team so far, winning all six of the races. They have also secured pole positions at every race, just barring Baku. With the command Red Bull has over F1 now, many teams were curious to find out the reason for their success.

After Lewis Hamilton crashed his newly upgraded W14 in the third free practice session of the Monaco race weekend, it was lifted out by cranes instead of loading it onto a truck. Later during the qualifying session, Sergio Perez, too, had to endure the same fate after crashing out in Q1. Due to being airlifted, the floors of both cars were revealed to their rival teams, the Red Bull being the matter of most interest.

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However, Red Bull’s Helmut Marko claims that it will not be easy to replicate Red Bull’s floor design. “The floor is very important, but if you don’t have the other parts and all the underlying concepts, then it’s not that easy. And the Mercedes car was even longer in the air,” said the Austrian. He also went on to say that the floor of the RB19 attracted more interest than the W14’s design.

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 The 80-year-old also explained that the floor wasn’t the only reason for their high speed. “It’s not just the floor,” Marko said. “It has to work together with the front wing and the rear. So it’s all those things combined, and that’s a lot more complex than just the floor,” he continued.

Mercedes technical director James Allison admitted that the team is trying to comprehend Red Bull’s underbody and is exploring options to incorporate into W14. he said, “ [We] got a nice clutch of Red Bull [floor] imagery and that’s always a good thing for our aerodynamicists to pore over and see if we can pick out details that will be of interest to us in our ongoing test programme.”

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Mercedes is struggling to compete against Red Bull

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It is no secret that Red Bull is the team to beat this year. Max Verstappen has been the pick of the two drivers, winning four of the first six races. The fashion in which the Red Bulls have won their races is also an admirable feat. However, Mercedes, who were expected to compete with Red Bulls, are still struggling.

Mercedes in the first six races, has only one podium finish, secured by Lewis Hamilton in Australia. Mercedes decided to drop their zero-pod design and brought several other upgrades to the Monaco Grand Prix. This resulted in a P4 and P5 finish for the team.

However, due to its unique requirements, Monaco is not the ideal testing ground to evaluate the car’s capability. Mercedes will hope to see their upgrades in the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix. At the same time, Red Bull will look to continue their previous form.

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