Tech expert warns Mercedes about the danger of copying Red Bull’s car

Mercedes are under pressure to deliver a winning F1 2024 W15 after two years of struggling.

The big question is which concept Toto Wolff’s team opt to put their faith in: they are expected to ditch their current ‘zeropod’ direction and move towards ideas more similar to Red Bull’s dominant RB19.

Anderson, the ex-technical director at Jordan, wrote for the Telegraph: “Are Mercedes bold enough to just copy the underfloor of a Red Bull, a McLaren or an Aston Martin? 

“The big thing is the aerodynamic philosophy behind that geometry. Having the car look the same is one thing but having it work the same is a different thing altogether. 

“And that is where you need to have the philosophy of the aerodynamics – how it instils confidence in the driver and how their package works as a unit.

“That does not always come from a car looking the same. 

“They could go off and copy Red Bull and it could be worse because their philosophy and their aerodynamics are not the same.

“It is like making a cake. You can put in all the the ingredients that Mary Berry says, but you can’t always end up with the same cake as Mary Berry makes. 

“Likewise with a racing car, you cannot just throw it all in. It is all about just having an aerodynamic package that gives the driver confidence.

“Mercedes’ task is bigger now than it probably was four or five races ago because these last few races were about heading in the right direction.

“Unfortunately, they have not been consistent in the race itself.

“You need a result and you need a direction to give you confidence to make big decisions over the winter. 

“I always worked from a believe that you have to be able to recognise the problem in order to fix it. 

“There are lots of problems there for Mercedes to contemplate. The pit stops are not as fast as the other teams and they do not read the strategy very well whenever it comes to changing. 

“The strategy is always a living thing. No matter what your plan is before the race starts, there’s a very good chance you need to change it.

“But the biggest issue is the basic car underneath you. It needs to be at a level to give a driver confidence. 

“That could even be having it produce up to something like five per cent in downforce, because to give the driver confidence is better than that extra peaky downforce. 

“They are struggling at the moment to identify their aerodynamic problem because from race to race it goes up and down like a yo-yo.

“We are talking about a team that has won eight constructors’ world championships. 

“We are not talking about a team at the back and getting better some weekends. They are not. 

“By their high standards, they’re getting worse some weekends and never better. 

“With the driver line-up they have, the budget, the factory, they should be sitting beside Red Bull. They have a big job on their hands.”

F1 returns next weekend at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the penultimate weekend of a poor year for Mercedes.