On Saturday morning at the Austrian Grand Prix, there was a notable element of the Red Bull car that required further inspection.
A strong resemblance could be observed between the RB21's current floor and that of the Ferrari SF-25.
At its home race in Austria, Red Bull introduced a so-called 'parting grove' for the first time, located roughly 30 centimetres in front of the rear edge of the floor, in front of the rear wheels.
It is something that has been present on Ferrari's car for years, with the function of creating a seal in line with the throat of the diffuser.
It's a philosophy that is opposite to that of the previous version of the floor used by the Red Bull RB21, which fundamentally followed the same philosophy as McLaren.
The main feature was a longitudinal slot that created a kind of longitudinal sword edge. That feature ended exactly where the new perpendicular slot has now appeared on the lateral edge.
It also demonstrates how teams consider implementing the solutions that appear on competitor cars. Perhaps it is not always the most competitive, but the specific solution does show valid intuition and originality.
The use of Red Bull adopting the concept may stem surprise, given the Italian squad has struggled for performance this year.
But the most relevant problems of the SF-25 are not in the aerodynamic concept but rather in the low consistency of aerodynamic performance caused by unpredictable dynamics of the car.
Also interesting:
WATCH: Red Bull home disaster as Norris sets unstoppable pace
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes and Nick Golding, as they dissect a scorching Austrian Grand Prix qualifying!
Get the latest F1 news from RacingNews365 directly in your Google feed! Click on the link below and you’ll see your favourite F1 website appearing even more often. That way, you’ll never miss any news, analyses, interviews, or exclusives.
Follow RacingNews365 on GoogleMost read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..













Join the conversation!