'Surprising that everyone copies Red Bull, but no one copies Ferrari"

‘Surprising that everyone copies Red Bull, but no one copies Ferrari” – AMuS. AMuS reflects on Ferrari's pace in Austria.

Last Sunday, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz hit back hard, but unfortunately only the Monegasque driver was able to take valuable points in the standings. The Ferrari duo was too powerful, and Red Bull did not have an answer. Uncharacteristically, Max Verstappen made it easy for Charles Leclerc to pass him three times. After the race, the Dutchman admitted that he knew that third was the best he could hope for during the race.

In the recent Auto Motor und Sport podcast episode following the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Formula 1 journalist Michael Schmidt talked about Scuderia Ferrari’s win and pointed out the great pace shown by the Maranello team’s F1-75 car:

“Ferrari has a very good car. What surprises me is that everyone copies the Red Bull, but no one copies the Ferrari. Which simply shows that no team knows why the Ferrari is so fast. With the Red Bull, teams sort of think they know the readon, but with the Ferrari, no one knows. One thing is clear, in my opinion, the great strength of the F1-75 is that it is always and everywhere fast. It’s fast in different ground clearances, they have an engine that’s incredibly elastic, that’s easy to drive. It gives the drivers confidence. And the F1-75 is good-natured. Cold or hot weather, no matter what tyre compound, Ferrari are always there somehow. And the F1-75 is good-natured. Cold or hot weather, no matter what tyre compound, Ferrari are always there somehow.” – German automobile magazine Auto Motor und Sport informs.

But is there a theory? Flexibility of the floor maybe?
“Mercedes suspects that, but they also suspect that Red Bull is doing something with the floor. That will be seen in Spa.” – Michael Schmidt added – “In my opinion there won’t be much change in terms of performance level.” – Auto Motor und Sport concluded.