BARCELONA – Sergio Perez’s Monaco Grand Prix crash may give Mercedes aerodynamics engineers a useful insight into some of dominant Red Bull’s secrets, according to technical director James Allison.
Perez’s car was lifted off the street circuit by a crane after the qualifying incident, with the rarely seen floor of the Formula One car easily photographed.
The underside is the most aerodynamically sensitive area, with ground-effect sculpting responsible for much of the performance.
“Photographers are positioned at strategic parts of the track where there is a likelihood that the cranes will be brought into play and there they are clicking away furiously,” Allison said in a team debrief.
“And then our inbox is subsequently filled with high resolution images of other cars.
“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.”
Mercedes also had Lewis Hamilton’s newly upgraded car hoisted high in the air in Monaco, and Allison recognised that rival teams would have plenty to scrutinise.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner, whose team have won every race so far this season while once-mighty Mercedes are playing catch-up, played down the situation.
“It’s been a bit of a show-and-tell from all the teams,” he said in Monaco. “Everybody has been up in the air at some point. It’s the same for everyone.
“Pictures of floors get taken in and around the paddock... and each team will be employing spy photographers to get pictures of the cars when they are in parts and pieces.
“That’s common practice, so I wouldn’t have thought it was the first time a picture of the floor has been (taken), it’s probably the first time it’s been suspended from a crane but all teams are always striving for that intelligence.”
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur agreed it was hard to hide anything.
“I don’t want to speak about us but I think all the teams have thousands of pictures of all the other cars,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mick Schumacher will return for a Pirelli tyre test at the Circuit de Catalunya with Mercedes next week after Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old German, son of seven-time world champion Michael, lost his race seat at United States-owned Haas at the end of last season and is now reserve to seven-time world champion Hamilton and George Russell at Mercedes.
The test, on Tuesday and Wednesday, will be his first in a 2023 car.
“After the Grand Prix weekend, Mick will also get his first real-world taste of the W14 (car) on the second day of the Pirelli tyre test,” said team boss Toto Wolff.
“He has done a great job with the team so far, working hard back in the simulator and giving valuable input trackside.”
Russell will drive the car on Tuesday. REUTERS
