Mercedes technical director James Allison cheekily revealed that the Silver Arrows did indeed collect a “nice clutch of Red Bull imagery” during the recent Monaco Grand Prix, as a result of Sergio Perez’s car having been lifted by a crane.
The Mexican crashed for the second time this season in Q1, with the 33-year-old having heavily struck the barrier at Sainte Devote, due to having approached the corner too quickly.
In order to remove stricken cars from the Circuit de Monaco as quickly as possible, they are often lifted to safety by a crane, with Perez’s car having received the same treatment.
With Red Bull being so dominant this season, the floor of Perez’s RB19 was captured on camera an incredible number of times, with Mercedes having gotten in on the action.
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Allison revealed how the Brackley-based team’s aerodynamicists will “pore over” the photos to see if they can figure out any of the Austrians tricks, something the paddock will also be doing after Lewis Hamilton crashed.
Hamilton’s W14 was also lifted high into the air following a crash at the end of Free Practice 3, perhaps giving away some of Mercedes’ new secrets.
Mercedes, of course, ran their new concept in Monaco, meaning their rivals would’ve perhaps gotten a better understanding of the changes the team have made, as a result of Hamilton’s car having been lifted to safety.
Allison discussed Perez’s car being lifted into the air in Mercedes’ recent post-Monaco debrief, where he revealed what the team will do with the imagery they got their hands on.
“Well, certainly it always attracts a lot of interest,” Allison said.
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“There’s a lot of scurrying around with team cameramen, not just to rely on the TV pictures which are low resolution and not good enough grade.
“Photographers are positioned at strategic parts of the track where there’s a likelihood that the cranes will be brought into play, and they’re there clicking away furiously and then our inbox is subsequently filled with the high-res images of other cars.
“Sadly, our own car had its trip into the heavens this weekend. There’ll be plenty of photos in our competitors’ inboxes from that, but yes, we got a nice clutch of Red Bull imagery, and that’s always a good thing for our aerodynamicists to pore over and see if we can pick out details that will be of interest to us in our ongoing test programme.”