Red Bull’s surprises and setbacks from Alonso’s Aston Martin

There are many phrases full of irony in which Red Bull accused Aston Martin of copying its concept car in the previous F1 Bahrain GP,​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​first event of the 2023 Formula 1 season. However, Helmut Marko, an adviser to Red Bull, now seems to want to abandon those accusations, making sure that it is all a joke.

This was stated by the German publication ‘Formel1.de’ when asked if those from Milton Keynes have any proof that there may have been a transfer of information on the integration of 7 Red Bull engineers at Aston Martin from last year. “Not at all. And it’s not meant to be an accusation either,” Helmut Marko said, clarifying that the energy drink team was not considering filing a formal complaint with the FIA.

For Marko, it was all a joke: “They were just funny comments. If you look at the grid, Aston Martin is the car closest to Red Bull,” he added. In this way, Red Bull’s counsel greatly lowered the tone of his group’s complaints last weekend.

The accusations of the weekend

“Aston Martin is the most similar to Red Bull. There are reasons why this is so. Not only Dan Fallows moved to Aston Martin, but also other employees. They obviously have good memories.”commented Helmut Marko in the middle of the Bahrain F1 GP.

After Alonso’s podium in Bahrain, ‘Checo’ Pérez continued in that vein: “It’s great to see three Red Bulls on the podium.” Marko took that glove and said the same thing on ‘Servus TV‘: “Today we have three Red Bulls on the podium, only the last one (in third position) with a different engine”. And finally, the Red Bull Principal Team, Christian Horner, put the icing on the cake: “Imitation is the greatest form of seduction.”

However, as a clear analysis of the car, the Aston Martin is a hybrid of various concepts seen on the grid last year, adapting these ideas in its own way, with the example of a more aggressive sidepod in bathtub shape than the Ferrari or featuring a significantly different front wing than the Red Bull.