McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has pinpointed where he thinks Red Bull have gained such an advantage over the entire grid, with it coming down to the Austrians being the only side not to think that the new aerodynamic regulations “were quite restrictive”.
Since the new aerodynamic regs were introduced at the start of 2022, Red Bull have been virtually unstoppable, with the Austrians having won 20 out of the 25 races in the new era of F1.
They’ve been exceptional, with nobody having been able to consistently remain within touching distance of the Milton Keynes-based team.
The new regs have worked to an extent, with the midfield and backmarkers arguably being the closest they’ve been in years; however, the same can’t be said at the front.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
Red Bull are well clear of Mercedes and Ferrari, with Aston Martin arguably being their closest competitor; albeit, still several tenths slower.
Stella believes Red Bull perhaps had a more open mind in regard to the new regs and discovered sooner than everyone else that the floor in particular could be heavily developed, meaning they gained a significant advantage over those who took longer to work around the new ground effect regulations.
“I have to admit, and it think most teams would admit, that before the new generation of cars, we thought the regulations were quite restrictive,” Stella told media, including RacingNews365.
“But interestingly, as soon as you start the journey, you realise there is a lot of performance [available], especially on the floor.
READ: Guenther Steiner makes Lewis Hamilton quitting Mercedes prediction
“Ground effects can be exploited from a technical point of view beyond what I think anybody in Formula 1 would have anticipated.
“If you see the sophistication of the geometries, you’ll see on some cars, especially the parts facing the ground, so not necessarily visible, the complexity of the [air] flow field and the vertical structures that you want to generate under the car, I think went beyond what the regulations would have expected.
“From a technical point of view, it is fascinating, but from a spectacle point of view, it means that whoever does a better job, like Red Bull are doing at the moment, gain a consistent, competitive advantage beyond what could have been anticipated.”