Copying other F1 cars is 'difficult to police', says Ferrari

Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies says F1 teams have always copied each other’s designs throughout the sport’s history. Without stronger regulation, he believes it is “tricky” to stop teams from doing so.

Speaking ahead of the 2022 Spanish GP, he said:

“The copying question is a tricky one. We have been going through that already a couple of years ago. It’s difficult to police. It’s also difficult philosophically, to know where you want to go based on the history of the sport and so on.”

F1 teams have always sought “inspiration” from rivals for their own designs. None of them, however, have done so to such an extent as Racing Point/Aston Martin.

Ahead of the 2020 season, they unveiled the RP20 – an almost exact replica of the championship-winning Mercedes from the previous season. While it caused a major stir across the paddock, the car was mostly ruled to be within the regulations by the FIA.

Two seasons later, the Silverstone-based outfit seems to have repeated its strategy, but this time taking inspiration from this year’s Red Bull.

When they unveiled their long-touted “B-spec” of the AMR22 ahead of the Spanish GP last weekend, many couldn’t help but notice its striking resemblance to the Red Bull RB18. Apart from the front wing and suspension geometry, the new car seems to be a carbon copy of the RB18, with many calling the new car a “green Red Bull”.

Many in the paddock have since called for the regulations to be tightened to stop teams from doing so. According to Laurent Mekies, brands should aim to have their designs in line with their brand identity and should refrain from extensively copying rivals. He added, saying:

“I think as a brand, you would like to think that each brand will have his own identity and you would like to design something of your own and to evolve something of your own. So hopefully, it’s a combination of that, and of the stronger regulations, will make the sport steer away from the discussion.”

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Ferrari not yet worried about points deficit to Red Bull

Ferrari is reportedly not yet worried about its points deficit to championship rival Red Bull after the latter took its second 1-2 finish of the season at the Spanish GP.

Laurent Mekies expressed confidence in Ferrari’s ability to fight back and felt that given the long season ahead, things could swing back either way very quickly. He said:

“I think if you had a look at last year, points difference at the beginning of the season, you could have said the same thing. And in the end, things change. It’s race six of 22, so we are very, very far from having the good problem you are talking about. It is a topic for much later.”

After leading both championships after the early rounds, Ferrari currently trails Red Bull by 26 points – more than a race win’s worth of points. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc lost his championship lead for the first time this season after retiring from the Spanish GP.