Former Mercedes technical director Mike Elliot left the team last season following their disappointing performances over the last two campaigns. The Silver Arrows have struggled massively as they have failed to win a single race in the last two years. Many experts had blamed Elliot for Mercedes’ struggles due to their failed zero side pod concept. F1 analysts believed that under the British engineer’s lead, Mercedes were unable to produce a strong car that was capable of fighting for wins. However, Red Bull, under the leadership of Adrian Newey, have the opportunity to vindicate Elliot because of the similar design they have produced for their RB20. F1 expert Nate Saunders recently shed light on the same while speaking on the most recent episode of the Unlapped podcast.
Saunders said, “They (concepts of Mercedes and Red Bull) are not completely identical. But the concepts you can see are borrowed from each other. And that whole time, in 2022, when Mercedes were struggling with their car, if this solution of Red Bull is a huge step forward, then it will kind of explain the kind of confidence Mercedes had in that“.
The F1 expert then added that if “Red Bull dominates this season, then it would almost vindicate Mike Elliot“. The 49-year-old was Mercedes’ scapegoat as most experts blamed him for the team’s struggles over the last couple of seasons.
Now, to make matters worse for Mercedes, Red Bull’s technical director Pierre Wache explained how his side may have taken inspiration from the Silver Arrows’ concept but they have bettered it. When asked about the same, he replied, “It is not exactly the same to be fair…it’s a lot better“.
Red Bull likely to dominate in 2024 as well
Since confidence is running high in the Red Bull team, they are likely to dominate the 2024 season as well. The Milton Keynes-based outfit had a strong outing during pre-season testing as Max Verstappen topped the timing charts after the first day.
Although Red Bull were not able to register the quickest time on the second and third day of pre-season testing, they did manage to show off their strong pace on the long runs. They did seem to be quick despite taking inspiration from Mercedes’ zero side pod concept, which did not bring the desired results for the Brackley-based team in the last couple of seasons.
Hence, if Red Bull do end up achieving success with this concept, it will most likely hurt Mercedes, who have moved away from it. However, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff does believe that his side have made the right decision to move away from the zero side pod concept.
The Austrian said, “Each team pursues its own direction of development. And what you think works, you then implement. We have moved away from our zero pod concept and have moved to a rather conservative side box solution because we think it is the better way for us“.
Although Red Bull did shock several experts with the design of their car, three-time champion Max Verstappen has complete trust in them. The Dutchman explained how he is confident that his team members “know what they are doing ” and all that he wants is for the car to be as fast as possible.
With aero God Adrian Newey leading the development of their car, Red Bull certainly do seem to be the favorites going into 2024 as well. The team had a record-breaking season in 2023 as they managed to win 21 out of the 22 races. It will be interesting to see if they are able to reach the heights of last season or not.
