Red Bull's technical director Pierre Wache has said that 'it's possible to copy' in Formula 1, suggesting that his world championship-winning team have 'inspired' themselves based on their rivals' performances.
“I think it’s possible to copy, but in every business in the world, when it’s technical, the ‘how’ is one aspect,” he told Motorsport.com.
“The most important aspect is ‘why’.
“If you don’t know ‘why’, you can copy whatever you want, but it’s better to stay with what you understand.
“We also copy some stuff,” he added. “We [might] copy the wrong thing, but you inspire yourself based on what you see from others.
“It’s like a Darwin effect, this business. You see something from others, you add another idea to it and you develop and you grow your concept, your strengths and your capacity.
“But, every time, it has to be on the understanding aspect. If you just copy for copying’s sake, it doesn’t work.
“You [need to] have the knowledge and also what you want to achieve. If you don’t have the same golden aim of characteristics, it doesn’t bring anything."