F1 News: Red Bull's Floor Stumps Engineers - "So Complex"

Following Sergio Perez's crash at the Monaco Grand Prix, Red Bull's rivals got a unique chance to study the elusive RB19's floor design. Despite this opportunity, the intricate design might still be tough to replicate due to its sheer complexity.

A twist in the tale came at the Monaco Grand Prix when Sergio Perez's unfortunate crash inadvertently unveiled Red Bull's well-guarded secret - the design of the RB19's floor. The incident led to Perez's car being hoisted from the crash site at Sainte Devote, revealing the usually hidden underside of the RB19 to nearby photographers.

It's a well-known fact that since the introduction of the current technical regulations last season, Red Bull has been dominating the field. Many believe that the secret to their speed lies in their unique floor design.

Hamilton and Perez didn’t help a lot to keep engineering secrets yesterday.

Really good Mercedes and Red Bull floor comparison, massive ground effect canals, but quite “simple” as you want air to move as quickly as possible underneath the car. #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/yOEmh2QGEF

— Maxx | F1newsletter.com (@F1_Newsletter) May 28, 2023

However, replicating the floor design could still prove to be a tough nut to crack. Dave Robson, Williams' head of vehicle performance, voiced his views on the matter. He said, "It's so complex that on a 2D photo, because of the way the light is, it's so curved, you can't figure any of it out." According to him, the intricate and curved layout of the design makes it quite a challenge to duplicate.

In a somewhat similar event, the underside of Mercedes’ car was also revealed after Lewis Hamilton crashed during the final practice. Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes’ trackside engineering director, however, believes that their dominant rivals will be more perturbed by having their secrets exposed. He stated:

"I suspect they’re probably more annoyed about their car being left in the sky than we would be about ours.

"To be honest with these regulations the most important bit is the bit that you don’t normally get to see. So the teams will be all over those kind of photographs. Monaco is a good opportunity to get that kind of shot."

Yet, Shovlin pointed out that today's strict regulations on weight distribution in F1 imply that lifting cars into the air by cranes doesn't disclose the same information as it once did. 

"Years ago, when your weight distribution could be anywhere between 48% and 43 you paid a bit more attention to where people are. If they lifted a car, you could sort of try and work out where the centre of gravity was. These days you’ve got a pretty narrow window to work in by the regulations anyway."