Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin sneak into Wolff and Horner’s party (and they get angry)

“It is absolutely unacceptable.” That’s how resounding he was Toto Wolff with your technical team when a client team that carries engines similar to yours they were faster than them on the track. The team boss Mercedes It has been taken as a humiliation that, for the first time in a long time, a team that supplies engines has produced a better chassis than the squad that it manages. In the field of Red Bullthe incorporation of Aston Martin to the bunch of teams that could choose to the victory has not been much better either. Despite achieving victory with some comfort, the energetic have not spared barbs and insinuations ranging from accusations of plagiarism to possible regulatory irregularities.

This is how it was dispatched Christian Horner, the boss of Red Bull, on the work of the green cars during the winter: “They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery and it is a good thing that the old car (referring to the Aston Martin) works so well. According to the result of the race, they are the second strongest team. The plagiarism concept was repeated profusely by many members of the current world champion team. The most curious thing is that in the field of Mercedes they did not hesitate to attribute the ‘paternity’ of the car of Fernando Alonso. Take, for example, these statements from lewis hamilton: “More than half of your car is ours and its aerodynamics development is done in our wind tunnel, so we have work to do“.

Not everything is copy

What are we left then? the merit of Aston Martin it resides only in having mixed in a car the best of Mercedes and the best of Red Bull? It is possible that in theory this is the case, but if in practice it were that simple, every year we would see revelations like the one we have seen in this first Grand Prix of the season. And it is very unfair. Inspirations or technological loans aside, what Aston Martin did during the winter borders on the heroic. It is a huge lack of respect, reducing the reason for Fernando Alonso’s podium in Bahrain to filling in a puzzle joining the best pieces of two powerful teams. What to ‘copy’ a winning car is also something as old as the competition itself Formula 1. Some copies were dismal failures and others were far better than the original model. And the current restrictive regulations make the cars very similar to each other.

The resentment of Red Bull towards the good role played by Aston Martin in Bahrain, has its origins in the moment that Dan Fallowsone of its most brilliant engineers grown under the aegis of Adrian Newleysigned a year and a half ago for Aston Martin. The one who was head of his aerodynamics department, surprisingly changed the blue uniform of the energetics for the green of the team owned by Lance Stroll. Crucially, Fallows didn’t have to move his address, as both teams’ headquarters are only a few miles apart. This is a phenomenon that has been repeated in the Formula 1 historically. The proximity of a large majority of teams in the ‘Milton Keynes Valley’ makes it possible to recruit or change talent in record time at the stroke of a checkbook or professional promotion. This is just what he has done Aston Martin and that has irritated so much Red Bull. But we should remind them, that this is just what they did back in the day removing Newey himself from McLaren thanks to a dizzying offer.

No need to go so far in time, Red Bull Technologiesits new motorcycle division, has also fished massively in the fishing ground of Mercedes-Benz Powertrains, with a multitude of irresistible offers from the economic point of view. “He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone” could be said. No team can boast of being honest in the labor relations of their on-track rivals, but perhaps Red Bull, be of all the least authorized voice to be raised. In addition, the signing of Dan Fallowsit should not be forgotten that, along with him, another very renowned aerodynamicist arrived, such as Eric Blandin, coming from Mercedes. And of course, without forgetting either, that beyond the star engineers, the list of engineers in Aston Martin has doubled since Lawrence Stroll to acquire team in 2020.

Checo Perez joked about the Aston Martin plagiarism theory, saying there were three Red Bulls on the podium, although one of the three with an engine Mercedes. But Marko HelmutSo comfortable in his role that the bread rises every time he opens his mouth, he even hinted that there might be something illegal in the whole story. “It is true that what Dan Fallows had in his head cannot be erased. Copying the concept is not prohibited, but is it possible to copy in such detail without having documentation of our car?” What was said by the strategic advisor of Red Bull are already big words, because we are facing very serious accusations.

Wolff and his contradictions

Toto Wolff in Mercedes, in his usual line of the carrot and stick game, it doesn’t go as far as suggesting some kind of illegality, but he’s not refusing to admit that a team using a similar engine, gearbox and rear end to his own could have done a better job. “Mercedes has been so focused and confident on this concept car (with the narrow, vertical sidepods) that you may not have been able to recognize the higher yield potential from other directions”. What the Austrian manager does not tell interestedly is that doing things his way and not following in the footsteps of other teams, it is what he has always boasted of.

In the plurivictorious era of Mercedeswhere Lewis Hamilton won world titles with insulting superiority, Red Bull He already had some advantage in aerodynamics with his wedge-shaped car leaning heavily forward. Wolff may have underestimated the advances of his rival, thanks to the superiority of his team’s engines. For a long time the Renault propulsion and later Honda, which equipped Red Bull, were no match for Mercedes. But once there was some parity among all the powerplant builders on the gridMercedes lost part of its supremacy. They were still potential winners but no longer dominant. The point is that the relative debacle of last year was amended throughout the season and in the last few races, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were back in the ointment. Her risky gamble seemed to be paying off for her.

So it seems a little advantageous on the part of Toto Wolff blame your team not having followed in the wake of Red Bull, when doing things differently, is just what he bragged about all his life. Furthermore, it is fair to remember that if we accepted the theory that the Aston Martin It’s just a copy of a Red Bullthe most I could aspire to Fernando Alonso is to be close to Max Verstappen and Checo Pérez. never beat them Only by using different weapons can a leader be defeated. This is a maxim that is valid for practically all sports and in Formula 1, due to its high technical component, it is even more so. And Wolff knows that better than anyone.

The Mercedes engineers, after solving the youthful failures of their concept, had good reasons to continue betting on it. But let neither Wolff nor Horner be mistaken. For Aston Martin to climb the last step that separates it from the top, they will have to evolve their car more and better than their rivals. Perhaps the fact that due to the issue of budget limits, Aston Martin will have more hours of wind than both teams, is the wound from which both Mercedes and Red Bull breathe. But even if they took it for granted in his mind, the Formula 1 party does not belong to them and Alonso and his team have not only ‘sneaked’ into it, but they could end up as the star guest.

“It is absolutely unacceptable.” That’s how resounding he was Toto Wolff with your technical team when a client team that carries engines similar to yours they were faster than them on the track. The team boss Mercedes It has been taken as a humiliation that, for the first time in a long time, a team that supplies engines has produced a better chassis than the squad that it manages. In the field of Red Bullthe incorporation of Aston Martin to the bunch of teams that could choose to the victory has not been much better either. Despite achieving victory with some comfort, the energetic have not skimped on quibbling and insinuations ranging from accusations of plagiarism to possible regulatory irregularities.