If Mercedes and Ferrari were still on a distinguished path at the beginning of 2023, they were quickly confronted with the facts by Max Verstappen. They clung to the wrong concept.
The path Red Bull took when the new rules came into effect in 2022 turned out to be the only correct one. Now that Verstappen has confirmed this with his third consecutive world title, all F1 teams are more attuned to the Austrian racing team.
They are not copies of the Red Bull car yet, but all the engineers have stolen their eyes from the constructors' champion.
Just take Mercedes as an example. While the team has previously used so-called 'zeropods', this season it has switched again to more traditional sidepods, which are air scoops on the side of the car.
Competitors also borrowed from the world champion suspension, rear wing and other parts.
Since downforce – the force that pulls a Formula 1 car onto the road surface – is primarily determined by the floor, it also matters what happened underneath.
Sergio Perez's crash in qualifying in Monaco also gave competitors the opportunity to study the underside of Red Bull last year. Did they also get ideas there?
Testing days in Bahrain begin on Wednesday. Formula 1 teams then have 3 days to see if their creations will also produce results on the track.
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