After Sergio Perez crashed his Red Bull RB19 in Monaco, Red Bull’s ingenious floor was exposed to the public. While Adrian Newey has received a lot of praise for his design, Mercedes’s James Allison was not particularly impressed. In an interview with Sky Sports ahead of the Canadian GP, Allison stated that the design of Red Bull’s floor was “not mind-blowing”.
Allison has scrapped the W14’s zero sidepod approach since returning to his role as technical director of Mercedes. Their new sidepods were similar to the ones used by arch-rivals Red Bull. Yet, the team has chosen not to adopt a floor plan similar to the Milton-Keynes-based squad. The results too, have been good for Mercedes lately. Their double podium finish in Spain seems to have gotten their season back on track.
Earlier this month, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff claimed his engineers were not impressed with their rivals’ floor. And now, the top engineer of the Silver Arrows, James Allison has dampened the hype surrounding the Red Bull floor with a straightforward answer.
James Allison downplays hype surrounding Adrian Newey designed Red Bull floor
Adrian Newey is regarded as the mastermind behind Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s current dominance in F1. After the RB19’s floor became a public sight in Monaco, many expected Mercedes to take notes. However, James Allison claims that his team sees nothing substantial in adopting a Red Bull-like floor in their W14.
Previously, Mercedes driver George Russell said the floor, not the sidepods was integral in developing better downforce. But Allison claims Red Bull’s floor did not seem impressive enough for the team to copy it.
When asked about the Red Bull floor after the Canadian GP qualifying, Allison downplayed the hype surrounding it. He said, “You can see the love and care that’s gone into it. But I don’t think that any team on the pitlane has seen that and gone ‘Oh my god, it’s mind-blowing.'”
The Briton claims a floor like that can be developed if you fiddle around in the wind tunnel long enough. While he accepts some fascinating features it possess, the floor itself isn’t as promising as the hype surrounding it. Instead, Allison remains hopeful of Mercedes’s upcoming upgrades on the W14.
Can Mercedes catch up to Red Bull in 2023?
The folks at Red Bull were unhappy after one of Adrian Newey’s trade secrets was revealed in full sight at the Monaco GP. Team Principal Christian Horner in particular, was not happy with how the car was lifted up so high, for the whole world to see.
However, Horner believes their rivals won’t improve much on their performance until the Japanese GP, even with detailed images of the floor being circulated. Meanwhile, Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan claims copying their floor won’t make their rival’s car go faster.
Mercedes’ James Allison is confident that the new upgrades can help the team close the gap to Red Bull. The recent changes have improved the handling and performance of the car, leading to their first double podium finish of the season two weeks ago in Spain.
Although Mercedes had a slow start, they overtook Aston Martin to claim 2nd place in the standings after the race in Barcelona. The new suspension, floor, and sidepods have shown the untapped potential of the W14. While the team is still a long way from catching Red Bull, the Silver Arrows are on an upward trend and could provide some surprises later in the season.
