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F1 aerodynamicists up and down the pit lane will have been left “excited” by seeing the underside of Red Bull’s RB19 following Sergio Perez’s Monaco Grand Prix qualifying crash.
That is the view of Aston Martin performance director Tom McCullough, while Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin feels Red Bull’s rivals “will be all over” the photographs that emerged.
Since the introduction of the ground-effect regulations at the start of last season, Red Bull has dominated F1 with a car that has consistently been more stable than those from any other team.
Red Bull’s likely ‘secret’ was finally exposed when Perez’s car was lifted by crane off the circuit after smashing into a barrier at Ste Devote, allowing quick-thinking photographers the opportunity to capture crucial images.
Earlier in the day, the same fate had also befallen Mercedes when Lewis Hamilton’s W14 was lifted high into the air after he hit a barrier at Mirabeau, leaving the new floor on his car in plain sight.
With pictures taken of the underneath of the car, an annoyed Toto Wolff suggested the crane operator had previously worked in Cirque du Soleil.
Shovlin feels Red Bull will “probably be more annoyed about their car being left in the sky than we would be about ours”.
What was also noticeable was the balance of both cars once lifted, with the Red Bull on a relatively even keel, whilst the Mercedes tilted towards the rear.
He added: “Years ago, when your weight distribution could be anywhere between 43 percent and 48 – if they lifted a car – you could sort of try and work out where the central gravity was.
“These days, you’ve got a pretty narrow window to work in by the regulations anyway.
“But I’m sure that the photographs on the underside of the floor…to be honest with these regulations, the most important bit is the bit you don’t normally get to see.
“So the teams will be all over those kinds of photographs, and Monaco is a good opportunity to get that kind of shot.”
McCullough was in full agreement, although he is now hopeful drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll enjoy a clean race to ensure the floor on the AMR23 does not get similarly exposed.
“Obviously, there are some great photos,” said McCullough. “A lot of people were there so I’m sure the aerodynamicists will be having a good look at all the cars that have been lifted up.
“Thankfully, ours hasn’t been lifted up yet. Let’s try and keep it that way because the aerodynamicists never want to show you that (the floor).
“You learn a lot from just even how the plank is wearing, a lot from what’s touching.
“There’s a lot of very excited aerodynamicists up and down the pitlane looking at all of those, I daresay.”
Williams’ head of vehicle performance Dave Robson, however, said there was a downside to the images which would prevent teams from potentially replicating the floor on either car if it was felt there was an opportunity to do so.
“It seems so complex on a 2D photo,” said Robson. “Because of the way the light is curved you can’t figure any of it out.
“I guess it’s just coincidental. They all do it like that because that’s how they get the downforce, but it doesn’t half make it difficult to copy.”
