Red Bull's 2019 car to use contentious Mercedes style wheels

Adrian Newey, the chief technical officer for Red Bull has said that this years' contender, the RB15 will utilise the controversial Mercedes style wheel rims for the season.  The design has now been passed by the FIA and it looks likely that other teams will adopt the design.

The design came about after Mercedes had issues with the rear tyres overheating and over the summer they found a solution by placing holes in the rims which promoted airflow around the wheel which in turn aided cooling. However Mercedes were concerned that the innovative design would fall foul of the rules and opted against running the controversial design for the last three races of the 2018 campaign. 

The Aldo Costa designed wheels have since been passed by the technical committee of the FIA who approved them after deciding that the holes do not provide any aerodynamic benefit. The design was originally subject to scrutiny as the FIA was concerned that the effect gained would be similar to the "blown axle" that was banned in 2012.

The Mercedes design has since passed all the relevant tests by the FIA. The FIA were satisfied that the design was about temperature management rather than looking for any aerodynamic benefit and Toto Wolff has confirmed that the new design will be used on the 2019 contender.