Toto Wolff We will review Red Bull’s concept

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has hinted that the engineers will revisit the concept of the W14 car, based on Red Bull Racing’s decision.

After qualifying at Silverstone, where Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri set second and third fastest times, Lewis Hamilton said the McLaren car “looks so much like a Red Bull”. Responding to journalists’ questions on Saturday, Toto Wolff said Mercedes engineers had already studied Red Bull Racing’s ideas but abandoned them, but after McLaren’s success they were able to return to the matter.

Toto Wolff: “We see the Red Bull car from the outside, so we only have half the information. In fact, it doesn’t matter what the car looks like – only the numbers on the stopwatch matter. I think Lewis had that in mind, but the design of the McLaren car seems to be moving in the right direction.

Easier said than done. We’ve already blown a body kit into a wind tunnel that looks like a Red Bull body kit, but the efficiency left a lot to be desired. Perhaps we should return to this idea and keep working in this direction, as another team with the same external body kit turned out to be second fastest.

Toto Wolff added that rivals’ progress should set an example for Mercedes: “Compared to last season, Aston Martin have made huge progress and this year they have noticeably added to McLaren. We have to take our hats off to them, they are a good example for us to change things.”