Red Bull Motorsports
F1
A brief history of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
The Red Bull Racing team have come a long way since their inception in 2004. Here's a brief look at their history.
Red Bull Racing came into existence late in 2004 under the guidance of team principal Christian Horner, himself new to F1, with ambitions to challenge for grand prix victories and world championship titles. Over the next four seasons, the team laid solid foundations for later success. The team recruited in both quantity and quality, steadily expanding in numbers until they were capable of matching the most illustrious names in racing. Many of those recruited came with proven championship-winning pedigree – but the growing team weren’t looking solely outwards and also promoted from within: Red Bull Racing were a young team in every sense.
Christian Horner
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Webber and Coulthard in China, 2008
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David Coulthard retired at the end of 2008 to be replaced by Sebastian Vettel. The young German driver was a product of the Red Bull Junior Team and already a race winner in a Milton Keynes-designed Scuderia Toro Rosso car. His arrival at the senior team coincided with a major reset in the sport’s aerodynamic regulations. The new rules provided a level playing field and gave Red Bull Racing’s technical team, led by Adrian Newey, the chance to shine. In the RB5 they produced a winner. Vettel took the team’s first grand prix victory, leading home Webber in a 1–2 finish at the Chinese Grand Prix.
1st win – 2009 Chinese Grand Prix
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The following year saw Red Bull Racing achieve the ambitions set out five years earlier. Driving the RB6, Webber and Vettel were the class of the field in 2010 and title contenders from the start. Their consistent podium finishes secured the team a first title, the Constructors’ Championship, at the penultimate round in Brazil. Both drivers went to the final race in Abu Dhabi with a shot at the Drivers’ crown. Vettel emerged triumphant, winning the race to become the sports’ youngest ever World Champion.
Sebastian Vettel – The 2010 world champion
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2010 was just the first season of an incredible four-year spell where, despite fightbacks from the other established teams and some tight battles, Vettel and Red Bull Racing swept the board with four consecutive Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles from 2010–2013.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Four is Golden
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The 2014 season saw reality bite. The new hybrid power units heralded a change in the established order. Saddled with a sizeable horsepower deficit, the RB10 lacked the competitive edge enjoyed by its predecessors. Nevertheless, the car was still good enough to provide Daniel Ricciardo – who’d replaced retiring countryman Webber alongside Vettel for this season – with his first, second and third Formula One victories. Ricciardo outscored his quadruple World Champion team-mate to finish third in the standings – but also narrowly outqualified Vettel. While the team came down to Earth in 2014, their new driver was flying high.
Daniel Ricciardo's first F1 victory: Canada 2014
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Max Verstappen's first F1 victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, 2016
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