Red Bull clones, Stella: “'Same' cars, but the performance…”

A grid of Red Bull clones

The presentations of the F1 2024 cars are now complete with the exception of Red Bull which will present the RB20 tonight at 8.30pm Italian time and up to now there has been a certain tendency to conform to the aerodynamic concept which in the last two years has led Red Bull to win 38 of the 44 races held.

Andrea Stella, team principal of McLaren, underlined that the fact that the cars may appear very similar to each other at first glance does not mean that performance is destined to converge and be within a few tenths. What makes the difference are millimeters and the details of the car floor, an 'invisible' element until a car rolls over or is lifted by a heavy vehicle following an accident.

“This is the first year that, based on what we've seen in the first photographs of the cars, the macroscopic shapes appear to be starting to converge – the words of Andrea Stella – at the same time, much of the performance is actually in the details and concerns matters of millimeters. So Just because cars start to look alike doesn't necessarily mean performance will converge. But certainly this could be an important first factor. So I expect some convergence. The other element is that over time we hope to see, in the interests of the sport, that the budget cap starts to have an effect in balancing the sport, and the aerodynamic restrictions for those who win or finish in front of the constructors also have an impact . We therefore hope that these regulations will allow us to create a level playing field and make this sport more fun and more competitive in terms of results.”