Red Bull asserts ‘Ignorant Copies’ of RB19’s floor design provide no advantage to rival teams

Red Bull Chief Engineer Paul Monaghan claims that rivals will not benefit from the revelation of the RB19’s floor at Monaco


Red Bull asserts ‘Ignorant Copies’ of RB19’s floor design provide no advantage to rival teams

Red Bulls Max Verstappen leading the race at spanish GP (Credits: F1.com)

After Sergio Perez’s crash during qualifying in Monaco, his car was craned out, revealing the floor of the RB19. Photographers and mainly rival teams got a good look at Red Bull’s underside. The team’s annoyance with this matter was clear for everyone to see. However, Chief Engineer Paul Monaghan believes the team should not see this as a setback

“It’s not great. We don’t put our car up [like that], but it has happened and we’ll move on,” said Monaghan. He also suggested that copying the RB19’s floor design would not make any car faster. “A better description is that an ignorant copy isn’t necessarily going to go faster. It has to integrate. And it’s not just a bit of floor geometry,” he continued. Many rival teams claimed that they benefitted from the RB19’s floor on display in Monaco.

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Monaghan suggested that it would take as late as October for rivals to catch the Bulls. He also claimed that design similarities are not unknown to Formula One. He took the 2011 McLaren to explain his claim. “Ask McLaren about 2011 and what their car looked like when it was not quick. Then it appeared with some exhaust which looked just like ours, and it was quite quick,” said Monaghan.

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Also read: Carlos Sainz backs Ferrari despite dismissal start to 2023 season, claims the team is moving in the ‘right direction

Despite massive upgrades, Ferrari and Mercedes fail to bridge the pace deficit between Red Bull

Max Verstappen winning the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix; Image credit: sportskeeda

Red Bull has been a commanding force in this year’s F1 season. The Milton Keynes-based team has won all seven races of the 2023 season so far. Max Verstappen won 5, and his teammate Sergio Perez has two wins. No other team has challenged Red Bull for victories despite bringing severe upgrades to their car.

Mercedes finally decided to drop their zero-pod design and opt for side pods at the Monaco GP. Though Mercedes had their best season result, they were still far off Verstappen’s rocket pace. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell came home in P2 and P3, respectively, at Barcelona, giving the Silver Arrows 3 podiums in the season so far. However, Red Bull will not be too threatened as Max Verstappen finished P1 with a 20-second gap.

After tweaking their floor, suspension, and rear wing for the Spanish Grand Prix, Ferrari was still no match to the dominant Red Bulls. Despite qualifying on the front row at his home race, Carlos Sainz was easily overtaken by the Mercedes’, resulting in a P5 finish for the Spaniard. His teammate Charles Leclerc had a disappointing race where he classified out of the points.

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