Verstappen about the revealed floor plan in Monaco: « “This is not ideal” »
Since the Monaco Grand Prix, Red Bull's rivals have been able to closely examine the underfloor of the RB19 due to Sergio Perez's accident during Q1.
Max Verstappen admits that the recent disclosure of the RB19 floor is “not ideal”, but he also downplays the risk of Formula 1 rivals creating replicas.
The underside of Sergio Perez’s RB19 became visible to everyone when it was lifted by a crane off the track after his accident during qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.
Since then, other teams have been able to examine the floor in photos of the incident, and the technical director of Mercedes, James Allison, admitted that the images had given Mercedes aerodynamicists something to “look into”.
If Verstappen acknowledges that the situation was not ideal, he believes that it would be difficult for others to create their own version of Red Bull’s floor given the difference in development philosophy.
Copying is not synonymous with success
“They [Red Bull’s rivals] are working on it anyway, but of course, it’s not ideal,” Verstappen told the media.
Of course, the other teams are not stupid either: even if they had to copy it completely, it would not correspond to the philosophy of their car. Therefore, a lot of things need to be adjusted around it as well.
« We can’t just settle for someone else’s pontoons either. The car wouldn’t work then, so in the end, I don’t think it matters much. »
« This is our current floor, but we will also have a new floor in a few races. It won’t make a big difference. »
