04 June 2023 , 11:42
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Former Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg revealed at least two teams have put significant resource into poring over photos of Red Bull's floor design as they desperately try to close the performance gap.
The Red Bull cars have been head and shoulders above the rest so far this season. And one of the RB19's strongest weapons has been hidden where no-one could see.
But that intricate floor design, which forms an integral part of the car's aerodynamics, was shown off to all their rivals in Monaco. Sergio Perez crashed in qualifying and the tight streets of Monte Carlo meant the only way to swiftly recover the car was to hoist it up into the air.
Naturally, plenty of photos were taken of the underside of the car, giving teams the chance to take a proper look at the floor design. Speaking on Sky Sports, Rosberg said he knew of at least a couple of teams which have spent much of the last week taking a good look at those pictures.
He said: "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 have had people really dedicating their time in the last few days to really analyse the airflow and understand it."
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Rosberg did not specify which two teams he was referring to but, given his long-time affiliation with Mercedes, it is not unreasonable to assume the Silver Arrows may be one of them. Technical director James Allison has already admitted that he and his staff would be taking a good look at the Red Bull design.
Some Red Bull secrets were spilled when Sergio Perez's RB19 was hoisted into the air (Formula 1 via Getty Images)"Well, certainly it always attracts a lot of interest," he told reporters when questioned on the subject. "There's a lot of scurrying around with team cameramen, not just to rely on the TV pictures which are low resolution and not good enough grade.
"Photographers are positioned at strategic parts of the track where there's a likelihood that the cranes will be brought into play, and they're there clicking away furiously and then our inbox is subsequently filled with the high-res images of other cars.
"Sadly, our own car had its trip into the heavens this weekend. There'll be plenty of photos in our competitors' inboxes from that. But yes, we got a nice clutch of Red Bull 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."