F1
WRC champion Sébastien Ogier fulfils a driving dream as he gets behind the wheel of the double championship-winning Red Bull Racing RB7 Formula One car.
How do you provide an adrenaline rush for a four-time WRC champion? In the case of Sébastien Ogier, the solution was simple: take the supreme off-road driver of his generation, give him a racing circuit and an 800bhp championship-winning Formula One car, fire him up and let him loose.
Taking a day off from his day job, the current WRC series leader came to the Red Bull Ring, home of the Austrian Grand Prix, and swapped his M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC for the mighty Red Bull Racing RB7, the car that won the 2011 Formula One Constructors' championship and propelled Sebastian Vettel to the Drivers' title. It was, says Ogier, an opportunity not to be missed.
To see Ogier gets to grips with the RB7, watch the full video from Red Bull Films below.
"I'm 33-years-old. As a kid Ayrton Senna was my idol and, of course, I dreamed to have the chance to one day try this kind of car," said Ogier. "For a racing driver to have fun you need to be fast, and a Formula One is the fastest car you can drive so, of course, every racing driver wants to feel that one day."
I dreamed to have the chance to one day try this kind of car
Ogier had an expert tutor on hand to help him get to grips with the RB7; former Red Bull Racing driver and 13-time Grand Prix winner David Coulthard.
"There's a couple of challenges for Sébastien coming in and driving a Grand Prix car for the first time," said Coulthard. "In rally, you're used to a lot more cockpit space, whereas with a Formula One car it's a much more compact and hostile environment. Physically your senses are attacked a lot more when you're pulling up to 4.5G."
The RB7 is one of the most dominant cars in the 68-year history of Formula One, taking 12 victories, 18 pole positions and 10 fastest laps. Today the raucous V8 enjoys a second life in the Red Bull Live Demo team, travelling the world and taking F1 to places the sport wouldn't otherwise go. The car is still prepared to the same exacting F1 standards as it was when competing though, and has lost none of the extreme performance that characterises the premier class of open-wheel racing.
"It's a different world in Formula One," said Ogier. "I'm more excited than nervous but, of course, this will be the first time I will go this fast on the racing track."
Want more? Visit the Red Bull VR Hub and join Sébastien Ogier in the virtual driver’s seat as he fulfils his F1 dream.
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