Red Bull have admitted 'surprise' at the technical innovations on Mercedes' 2024 car, as the season begins in Bahrain.
The all-new W15 has been billed as a ground-up redesign of a car which has struggled for the last two seasons, failing to win a single race in 2023.
It’s part of the reason why star driver Lewis Hamilton is without a race victory since 2021 and is now off to Ferrari for next season to embark on a new journey.
One feature that stood out was their three and a half element front-wing design, which will be almost impossible for other teams to copy this year.
Red Bull themselves took inspiration from Mercedes’ old sidepod design and seems to have found a significant benefit with it.
Pierre Wache is Red Bull's technical director and helps lead the way on their design frontThe RB20 looks to be the class of the F1 2024 field currentlyThe Mercedes W15 - which has been substantially changed from its predecessor
Wache: I don't know if they understood
Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache has been discussing the direction that Mercedes have taken over the winter with Autosport.
“I don't know if they understood what we did, but I think they understood from what I saw in the development of their cars,” said Wache.
“Even if it's not exactly the same path, because I'm sure we are not right everywhere, they have found their own path in the sense that you develop a tool, or certain paths of development, based on the issues you have and based on your understanding.
“So maybe they have found some other stuff that could be very interesting. To make it be able to work with three and half flaps on the element on the front wing [like Mercedes] is interesting by having more outwash.
“They have found a different path. I'm not sure they know exactly what we did, because if you just copy without understanding, for me it's useless, but all the competitive people in this business are following a path for their benefit."
It could take the Silver Arrows a while to fully catch Red Bull, and that’s if they ever manage to.
The season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix should give everyone an understanding of how much ground Mercedes have to make up this year before they can compete for victories.
GP MONACO
24 - 26 May
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7 - 9 Jun
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21 - 23 Jun
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28 - 30 Jun
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Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024 
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 
Grand Prix of Australia 2024 
MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024 
Grand Prix of China 2024 
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