Red Bull take drastic action to avoid Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes stealing secrets again
Red Bull were worried about their master plan being revealed at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Red Bull were very keen to avoid having their secrets released at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after Sergio Perez crashed out of the third practice session. With only five minutes remaining of FP3, Perez went front-first into the wall to bring an end to his outing, though thankfully the driver confirmed that he was unharmed and walked away from the scene.
Perez suffered the second crash of the day, after Fernando Alonso had already spun out onto the gravel, with both Red Bull and Aston Martin forced to wait a significant amount of time before their cars were returned to the garage by Imola stewards.
Time was of the essence with only a couple of hours remaining before vehicles needed to take to the track for Qualifying, though Red Bull were keen to ensure that a sheet covered the bottom of Perez’s car.
Last year, the team were furious that the floor of their RB19 was lifted in the air by a crane at the Monaco Grand Prix for all to see. Lewis Hamilton was accused of saving photos of the bottom of the car, possibly giving Mercedes an edge moving forward as their technicians were able to learn more about what made their rivals so dominant on the track.
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But Red Bull appear to have learned from their pitfalls, having ensured that there was no chance of Hamilton or any other rival gaining insider knowledge of the RB20 and how Perez’s vehicle works.
McLaren and Ferrari have gained on Red Bull and are now seen as serious challengers, with Sky Sports F1 pundit Ted Kravitz explaining the lengths that the team went to in order to protect their underbody aerodynamics.
Ted Kravitz thinks Alonso and Perez will both be able to make appearances in qualifying ???????????? pic.twitter.com/vEvfhDtvjK
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 18, 2024
“There you can see in the background is the Red Bull of Sergio Perez, and they are going to be very keen aren’t they Natalie (Pinkham - Sky host) to cover up not only the top of Perez’s car, which I think they are less worried about, than the floor,” Kravitz said.
“Because that is where the secret of Red Bull’s downforce is. In previous seasons of course as many of you watch us regularly will know, it’s been Sergio Perez’s car in the past when it’s been craned up or back in one of these low lawlors that someone has been able to get a camera down there and take a look at the secrets of Red Bull’s floor, or how they generate all their downforce."
However, Red Bull will be confident that their secrets have remained concealed and any perceived edge can be maintained going into Sunday's race.