Red Bull
Red Bull Source: PlanetF1

Red Bull is the most dominant Formula One team on the grid at present. There is no one better since they have won the last 17 out of 18 Grand Prix races. On the contrary, another F1 team, Williams, has not won a race in the last decade. They managed to earn only eight points last year in the constructor’s championship. That’s how bad the current situation has been for them. Meanwhile, Red Bull gets complete hegemony as the only dominant force in the grid. But everybody knows that the credit goes to the car more than to the drivers. After all, without a championship-winning car, no good driver can win a race or even a title. Hence, the Red Bull team is enjoying its dominance because of RB19’s superiority over other cars of other teams. And recently, the Austrian team opened up about taking inspiration from William’s car design for their best RB19.

   

Red Bull Took Inspiration From The Slowest Team For Their Car Design

Red Bull RB19 Floor
Red Bull RB19 Floor Source: RaceFans

As it turns out, Red Bull got the inspiration for their car’s design from the slowest team on the grid, the Williams. Paul Monaghan, the chief engineer of the current leaders and the reigning champion, revealed that they included the floor design of the Williams car back last year. According to him, “It is beneficial more than it looks from the outside.” Adding to that, the Red Bull chief engineer also acknowledged that there were a bit constrained about the height factor and where they would do it.

Apparently, people criticized William’s car after the Spanish Grand Prix. The main issue with the car was the simplicity of the floor design of the car. When the recovery of Logan Sargeant’s car was happening, it exposed the floor of the car in the final practice in Barcelona. At that point, William’s team principal James Vowles mentioned that “Clearly, we are lacking details compared to our competitors. But you don’t need to see the floor to know that. You can check out the lap time.” He also added that the floor generates the balanced characteristics between the performance of the car and the rear downforce. However, Red Bull has figured out the perfect balance, unlike Williams and other competitors on the grid. That is the result why they have been so successful since the introduction of the cost cap regulations.

The Cost Cap Regulations Not Helping Williams At All

James Vowles Williams
James Vowles Williams Source: PlanetF1

Almost every team suffered under the cost cap regulation, unlike Red Bull, the leaders, and the reigning champions. But Williams had the worst time. They have been the slowest of all. Moreover, the governing body introduced the cost cap rule in 2021 to make the races fairer for every team. It is because the powerhouses – Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari had the upper hand because of their big budgets for the cars previously.

But it seems the cost cap regulations did not help Williams at all. On the other hand, it changed the fortune of the Red Bull team upside down. They did win in 2021 before the introduction of the cost cap rules, but there was at least some sort of competition between Red Bull and Mercedes. However, these rules pushed the German team and Ferrari toward the backfoot.