Mercedes applauds Red Bull's 'bravery' as own 'trick' debunked

Mercedes' James Allison has lavished praise on Red Bull for opting to be radical with the RB20 as he explained their own front-wing.

When the RB20 broke cover at launch and through testing, attention was drawn to the engine cover which has seemingly drawn inspiration from Mercedes' own ideas with the 2023 car.

This came as a surprise owing to the fact that Red Bull's own RB19 won 21 of 22 races, but the team felt that it had to be revolutionary with the concept to prevent other teams from catching up.

Allison praised Red Bull for their bold approach as he also explained what the team's intentions are for its unusual design.

'Bravo to them'

"I thought that when a team is out in front as they have been, it is quite easy to rest on your laurels," Allison explained when asked by RacingNews365 for his thoughts upon seeing the Red Bull.

"I thought: 'Bravo to them' for being willing to do something that is not just a straightforward iteration of the previous season.

"I think you could go up and down this pit-lane and take the engine cover shape off every car on the grid and plunk it on every other car, and it wouldn't make a hill of beans difference.

"What will be interesting is what they've done underneath that engine cover - so what they are using that volume for, but the external shape is neither here nor there."

Allison was also pushed on the Mercedes front-wing design.

Attention has been drawn to the fact that a thin strip of carbon connects the upper-most flap to the nosecone, in a reading of the regulations not seen before.

It is legal as per the rulebook, and rival teams have not lodged any complaints or protests, with Allison describing what the team is hoping to achieve.

"We just want to have less load in that section of the wing, and that's a convenient way of doing it," he said.

"It is a way of us getting the load away in a way that we found efficient - it is just a small chord wing."