F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Abiteboul: Racing Point 'pink Mercedes' like forged artwork

Renault F1 boss Cyril Abiteboul says Racing Point has no reason to be proud of its RP19 Mercedes knockoff, comparing the copied design to a forged piece of artwork.

Racing Point's 2020 car turned more than a few heads when it was unveiled in Barcelona at the start of pre-season testing, the Silverstone-based outfit's car appearing to be a mere Mercedes W10 replica.

The pink charger also displayed impressive speed at the Circuit de Catalunya, but Racing Point tech boss Andy Green was anything but apologetic for following a design philosophy that indeed took its inspiration from Mercedes' 2019 Silver Arrow.

Abiteboul was among those who were unimpressed by Green's approach, and the Frenchman remains critical of Racing point's design philosophy.

"They've got great photographers, that's for sure," he told French broadcaster Canal+. "Also, it's worth noting the sort of honesty they've showed in admitting they copied.

"It's sort of the first time, at least as far as I can remember since I've been in F1, that someone has been really proud of copying.

"It's like a forger expressing his satisfaction with his work. It's not worth the original work of art or the pride of working on an original piece…"

Beyond his biting criticism of Racing Point's design, Abiteboul still isn't convinced by the legality of Racing Point's modus operandi which has led to the team fielding its pink Mercedes.

"The whole question is whether it's possible to do such an accurate job that works so well solely on the basis of public information?

"I won't go any further at this stage, but it is certainly a question we're pondering."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Sao Paulo GP: Saturday's action in pictures

Saturday's proceedings were cut short due to a heavy rain storm rolling into Sao Paulo…

54 mins ago

Sao Paulo GP qualifying postponed after repeated delays

The FIA has postponed Saturday’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix qualifying session due to adverse weather…

1 hour ago

McLaren: Team orders always ‘make life difficult for ourselves’

McLaren's successful 1-2 finish in the Brazilian Sprint race came with a dose of complexity,…

4 hours ago

Verstappen demoted to P4 following VSC infringement in Sprint

Max Verstappen has been demoted from third to fourth in the final standings of Saturday’s…

4 hours ago

Norris thanks Piastri for handing Sprint win, but not ‘proud’

Lando Norris secured victory in Saturday's Sprint event in Sao Paulo thanks to a McLaren…

6 hours ago

São Paulo GP: Norris handed sprint win by Piastri

McLaren clinched a valuable 1-2 sweep of the São Paulo sprint race, with polesitter Oscar…

7 hours ago