2016 Formula 1 World Champion Nico Rosberg admits he’s surprised that Mercedes hasn’t moved to sign technical staff from rival F1 teams.
Key figures from the Red Bull organisation have recently departed the squad, with Dan Fallows leaving to join Aston Martin as its technical director last year.
More recently, McLaren announced that it had signed Red Bull’s Chief Engineering Officer Rob Marshall, who will start work with his new team in 2024.
“I’ve heard also that Dan Fallows has also been quadrupled in salary plus an equity stake in the team,” Rosberg told Sky F1.
“The teams are going for it to try and get the talent from Red Bull which is the normal way in F1.
“That’s what always happens.”
Mercedes has not publicly moved to poach some of Red Bull’s key figures, a situation that surprises Rosberg, who drove for the team from 2010 to 2016.
“Mercedes – strange that they haven’t been a little bit more active there [in poaching from rivals].
“The knowledge that you also get around a set of regulations when you take someone from the best team is just so valuable. Perhaps that’s a little surprising.”
Mercedes has started the 2023 campaign on the back foot but had a strong outing last time out in Barcelona, taking its first double podium of the year.
While Rosberg says he’s stumped over Mercedes’ hiring tactics, he hailed the talent that is already set up within the organisation.
“Then again, of course, they have incredible talent at Mercedes and now the pictures from Monaco help a lot because thanks to Sergio [Perez]’s crash,” he said.
“There are beautiful pictures of the underbody of the car which they can now take from those pictures and create a whole CAD model and do a whole accurate design in the computer of what that car is actually doing.
“That makes it very easy to start to really understand and learn about that Red Bull car.”
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