Rosberg disagrees with Mercedes: 'Pictures RB19 help a lot'

Following a crash by Sergio Perez in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, the RB19 was lifted into the air, giving photographers from all teams a prime opportunity to photograph the RB19's much-praised floor. Mercedes downplayed the benefits, but Nico Rosberg thinks otherwise.

Technical director Andrew Shovlin said last week that all Formula 1 race stables will study Red Bull's floor pictures closely, but that this is only for "inspiration". This is because each team has a different philosophy, so it would not be possible to simply copy certain things. According to the Mercedes chief, it is first and foremost about 'understanding your own car'.

Rosberg on Shovlin's comments

Rosberg holds a slightly different view. Namely, he thinks he is certain that Mercedes did benefit greatly from the fact that there are now pictures of the floor of the RB19. "The pictures from Monaco help a lot because thanks to Sergio’s crash there’s beautiful pictures of the underbody of the car. They can now take from those pictures and create a whole CAD (computer-aided design) model and do a whole accurate design in the computer of what that car is actually doing. That makes it very easy to start to really understand and learn about that Red Bull car," he told Sky Sports.

True, it does not mean that Mercedes can now immediately copy the Austrian rival's floor and drive a similar concept within a few weeks, but it does give Lewis Hamilton and George Russell's team a good idea of how certain airflows run and how Red Bull can be so successful. For the long term, those pictures are definitely going to help Mercedes further, Rosberg said.

Verstappen not really worried

The fact that the Red Bull floor cannot simply be copied and then put under another Formula 1 car is one reason why Max Verstappen is not really worried about the photos. But there is another argument: "In the end, I don't think it matters very much. This is our floor now, but in a few races we will have a new floor again. That one will be completely different again. It won't matter that much," said the World Championship leader.