Szafnauer: "We've been looking at that concept for a long time."

Racing Point seemed like the big surprise of the Formula 1 field in the winter tests. The new car from Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll looks a lot like last season's Mercedes in a pink colour and the performance seems very good.

Racing Point gained momentum last year after Lawrence Stroll took over the team. The team is known for its efficient approach. They want to continue this mentality in spite of the large injection of money.

They have made solid strategic decisions, for example the move to the Mercedes wind tunnel last year. Racing Point's internal production capabilities and quality control have also been greatly improved. The new Racing Point looks a lot like last year's Mercedes W10, because they have taken a good look at photos of the 2019 championship car.

Otmar Szafnauer has always wanted to pursue the Mercedes philosophy of aerodynamics. “We have been looking at that concept for a long time, mainly because we are constrained with the gearbox that we buy from Mercedes”, he tells Formula1.com. “Mercedes have developed their gearbox casing to go along with that concept."

“We would buy that casing from them and use a totally different aero concept, which meant we are always compromised", Szafnauer says. "So for a long time, we wanted to move to the Mercedes-type aerodynamic concept - not having a high rake, a lower rear end - but we just never had the financial resources to do it. We always had to carry things over.”