Racing Point already using 2020 Mercedes suspension

Racing Point has confirmed that it is already running the rear suspension of this year’s Mercedes on its own 2020 car.

The team has made waves with its ’pink Mercedes’ this year, as it is clearly based on the design of last season’s championship-winning car.

"We said from the start that we would only use the concepts of the 2019 Mercedes as a starting point," technical boss Andy Green told Auto Motor und Sport.

"From that point on we operated with in-house development, following the wind tunnel data. The future shapes of the car are not determined by Mercedes, but by our data.

"That is why the aero upgrade we took to Mugello looks different from a Mercedes, because we believe that this geometry is better for us," he added.

However, he admits that Racing Point has now added the 2020 Mercedes rear suspension design to the team’s current car.

"We had to bring this upgrade to meet the token rule that was decided in May," Green explains. "The new rear suspension had to be on the car now in order to be able to use the 2020 Mercedes transmission next year."

Green said it is not right that rival teams are upset about this move.

"All we are doing is getting a 2019 car up to 2020 levels. Everyone else did that at the beginning of this season," he insisted.

"Our opponents wanted us to keep using 2019 parts while they were allowed to use 2020 suspension. Is that fair?"