Racing Point says McLaren, Renault also ’copied’ Mercedes

Racing Point is not the only team that ’copies’ the concepts of their dominant rival Mercedes.

That is the claim of Andy Green, Racing Point’s technical boss.

He thinks the sport’s moves to clamp down on car copying are going too far, even though Racing Point agreed in principle with the new measures.

"The clarifications state that not only are you not allowed to reconstruct individual components, but that it is also forbidden to adopt others’ concepts," Green told Auto Motor und Sport.

"But that is not what the rules say. That is an incorrect interpretation. How do you prove that you have not adopted the concept of another car? Where does it start and where does it end?

"McLaren should therefore not use their new nose and front wing, which clearly use the Mercedes as a template. Has anyone complained that they copied that? Or is only Racing Point not allowed to?

"If it’s forbidden to adopt other concepts, everyone would just stagnate and the good concept would always be superior to the others. And that would conflict with what the sport wants to achieve with the 2022 regulations," Green added.

Therefore, he says while Racing Point will have to make some changes for the future, "We’ll keep looking at the other cars for new ideas or inspiration".

"If other teams say they won’t and all their ideas are their own, then they’re dreaming. Look at Renault - the whole front part of the car is a copy and paste of the Mercedes concept.

"The teams that scream the loudest copy the most," Green charged.