Has F1 2021 had the best grid in the last 30 years? | TT GP #36
With so-called ‘Lynx eyes’, once again Red Bull pointed to a ‘trick’ from Mercedes to improve the W12 in a straight line. The ball of choice is the German team’s rear suspension system, which appears to be going downhill at high speed. Thus, the drag of the car is reduced, leading to a higher maximum speed. Red Bull chief Christian Horner believes the move is not illegal, but points out it is a “powerful” resource for Mercedes in some of the season’s remaining five races.
“I think Mercedes is clearly taking advantage of a tool for the straights,” Horner said in an interview with Sky F1 in Austin during TL1. “If you look at the rear suspension of his car, how it lowers … I think that was his strong point. [na Turquia]”she added.
“It will have more impact on some tracks. It was less impact here. [nos Estados Unidos], but in places like Jeddah [na Arábia Saudita], can be quite powerful,” he continued.
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Red Bull told Mercedes ‘trick’ in the rear suspension is “powerful” (Photo: Mercedes)
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Like the Turkish GP, where Valtteri Bottas won for the first time in 2021, the Taureans were really impressed by Mercedes’ pace – they even did a day of filming on the Istanbul Park circuit trying to get some answers. After all, both teams are waging an uphill off-track battle over the performance of one or the other: from the flexible rear wing to the engines at the start of the season.
This time the energy drink brand doesn’t see any irregularity in Mercedes’ view, but doesn’t deny it’s a profitable resource. “We don’t think it’s illegal, no,” Horner said. “It’s something that has been used, historically speaking. We’ve seen it used by them in the past. But obviously what we saw in Turkey was a very extreme version of it, more than that circuit was allowed.”
Toto Wolff, Mercedes boss, downplays Horner’s statements. For that, as far as Brackley’s team can legally improvise, it will. “We believe this is a sport in which competitors will always try to find out if there has been any improvement,” he explained.
“My experience is that there is no such thing, it is all small benefits, benefits that add up and bring performance. We are really trying to understand our car better and add performance to lap times, without listening to too much engine noise,” he concluded.
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