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It was only natural that in trying to sell his 'young' and 'vibrant' product to the world, Red Bull boss, Dietrich Mateschitz would make use of sport, instead of a Medifast coupon, and Formula One, the most vibrant and glamorous of sports - not to mention global - was the obvious choice for the Austrian.
Originally the company sponsored drivers, most notably fellow-Austrians, Gerhard Berger and Karl Wendlinger.
Then in 1995, Mateschitz bought a majority shareholding in Sauber, whilst also moving into other areas of motorsport, including Formula 3000, German Formula 3 and BMW Formula ADAC.
The relationship between Mateschitz and Sauber came to a messy end, when the Austrian opposed the Swiss team boss' signing of a youngster who had taken part in just 23 single-seater races... Kimi Raikkonen. To be fair, Mateschitz wasn't the only sceptic, indeed, FIA President, Max Mosley, insisted that the young Finn be given a provisional licence, such was the feeling in F1 that Raikkonen was too inexperienced to be racing at such a level.
Mateschitz sold his shares in Sauber and almost immediately began looking for his own team, taking time out to get involved in the IRL, courtesy of Eddie Cheever's race team.
When, in late 2004, Ford announced that it was pulling out of F1, it seemed obvious that Red Bull would snap up the British team, but Mateschitz opted to play 'hard ball', leaving the purchase until the last possible moment.
On Monday November 15, just days before the 2005 entry deadline, Ford confirmed that Red Bull had bought Jaguar Racing, while Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe, co-owners of the Champ Car World Series and heads of the PKV and Forsythe Championship Racing Champ Car teams, respectively, had bought Cosworth.
It wasn't long before the new Austrian owner was making his presence felt at Milton Keynes, with Tony Purnell and David Pitchforth being dumped in favour of Arden International boss Christian Horner, just days after the Christmas Party.
David Coulthard had already been recruited as number one driver, but the team seemed unable to decide on who should support him. Mateschitz favoured, fellow-Austrian, Christian Klien, however, F3000 Champion, Tonio Liuzzi, who had won his title with Arden, courtesy of Red Bull sponsorship, was also in the frame. Throw into the mix Scott Speed, a product of the (over?) ambitious Red Bull Driver Search Programme, designed to discover American F1 talent, and it was soon a case of too many drivers for too few seats. But more of that later.
Red Bull would have you believe that it is all about fun, fun, fun, but the reality is that like any other business it is out to make money, and part of that process is world domination, at least as far as its particular product is concerned.
Red Bull has targeted a particular consumer group, and for the time being, Formula One, along with other adventure sports, is the best way to attract that group's attention.
Anyone who has any doubts as to how ruthless Red Bull can be when it comes to business only has to look at the way Purnell and Pitchforth were dumped, much of this down to Dietrich Mateschitz' 'personal rottweiler', Helmut Marko.
Make no mistake, at a time when Max Mosley et al are questioning the motives of the manufacturers, Red Bull is only in F1 for as long as it suits it, for as long as the sport can help it sell its product to new markets. After that it will be a case of 'auf wiedersehen', for both Red Bull and Toro Rosso. Mateschitz is a good friend of both Mosley and Ecclestone, it suits all of them - for now - that Red Bull is in F1.
As for 2005, it all began well enough, as the Milton Keynes based outfit benefited from the Jaguar Racing inheritance. However, as the season progressed, the team didn't.
The choice of David Coulthard was inspired, though Pitchforth and Purnell had already done much of the groundwork before their firing - indeed Mateschitz had previously said that the Scot was "not an option". As it happened however, DC was given a new lease of life, and responded in style.
The situation on the other side of the garage however, was, frankly, ludicrous, with the team unable to decide on Christian Klien or Tonio Liuzzi, the end result being that nobody benefited, not least the 'hot shot' Italian.
Ahead of the 2006 season, Red Bull stunned the paddock with two major signings, design guru Adrian Newey leaving McLaren for the Austrian owned team, followed, shortly afterwards, by the Woking team's chief aerodynamicist, Peter Prodromou.
Neither would have any input in the RBR2, the team's first self-penned car, other than a few tweaks as the season developed. That said, just weeks before the start of the season Pitpass heard that all was not well within the team and that Newey might have to introduce the RBR3 earlier than planned.
Although the season got off to a good start, by the end of the year it was going through the motions, desperate for the new year, which meant new (Renault) engines and a Newey chassis.
Red Bull's lack of form wasn't helped by the fact that the team had punched well above its weight the previous season, helped by some stirring performances from Coulthard.
In addition to the RB2 not working well with the Ferrari V8 - when has any team other that Ferrari enjoyed success with Ferrari engines? - the Milton Keynes outfit fell victim to a problem of its own creation, having sided with the Italian team regarding the reintroduction of in-race tyre stops, a move which really only suited one team.
Although locked in to a two-year deal with Maranello, Red Bull was already looking at an alternative, and in much the same way as it sees fit to juggle drivers, chose to negotiate a deal which would see the Italian powerplants dumped on Toro Rosso, while Newey's RB3 would be fitted with the championship winning Renault unit.
For Red Bull, 2006 was about limiting the damage and trying to get through the season as best it could, in the firm hope that - thanks to Newey and Renault - salvation was at hand in 2007.
The season highlight - in a year of absolute lows - was Coulthard's inspired performance at Monaco, the Scot giving the Austrian team its first podium.
It was to be expected that the team would not get through a whole season without at least one episode of musical chairs, and therefore it came as no surprise when Christian Klien was dumped with three races remaining, Robert Doornbos being promoted from test driver to a full race seat for the second successive season.
For 2007, Coulthard was joined by Mark Webber, giving the 'yoof orientated' outfit one of the oldest line-ups on the grid.
In addition to Coulthard and Webber, Red Bull pulled off a major coup in securing an engine deal with Renault. Therefore, the first all-Adrian Newey car would have the benefit of a championship winning engine, seemingly the perfect combination.
It was on the way back from one of the first major tests of the year that Newey realised there was a calibration problem with the team's windtunnel, a problem that was to set the team back by more than a month. Nonetheless, Newey persisted, being the driving force behind the Milton Keynes outfit throughout the year, pushing his design team and engineers constantly, thinking two or three races ahead.
The key problem for Red Bull in 2007 was reliability, or rather the lack of it. The main problem was the transmission, but there were also retirements due to the brakes, hydraulics, driveshaft and differential. It comes as no surprise that the RB3 was one of the most unreliable cars out there, completing only 74% of the season's race laps.
Newey was both baffled and frustrated by the failures: "We've had a lot of reoccurring problems," he said, "which is always the thing in F1 which is not excusable. Problems do happen, but the golden rule is making sure they don't happen again, and we didn't achieve that. Is it manufacturing, quality control or packaging? Tick all the boxes really".
Whereas the Austrian team should have been capable of mixing it with the midfield group, with Williams and Renault, it struggled, scoring just 6 points in the first 9 races. Both drivers profited from the freak race in Germany, giving the team it's only double points finish, indeed, one of only four double finishes, of the entire season.
There was a late-season improvement following the test at Jerez, which saw points scored in three successive races, but it was too little too late. Coulthard finished the season in tenth place in the Drivers' Championship with 14 points, while Webber finished twelfth on ten. In the Constructors' Championship, the team finished fifth, an improvement on 2006, but, in all honesty, not where the Austrian outfit expected to be and not where it ought to be considering its budget.
For 2008, Coulthard and Webber were both retained, with Swiss newcomer Sebastien Buemi recruited as test driver. With several other key appointments, most notably Newey's former colleague Geoff Willis, it was widely expected the team would make a serious step forward.
Ahead of the season our sources at Milton Keynes assured us that the team was confident it had sorted many of its reliability issues, including the gearbox, a particular worry in 2008 considering the new four-race rule.
As it happens, reliability was much improved, with the RB4 only failing to finish eight times over the course of the season, only twice due a genuine technical problem. However, despite a strong start to the year the Milton Keynes outfit lost ground in the latter stages, ironically finding itself totally overshadowed by its 'sister' team.
While the RB4 looked much like its predecessor, appearances were deceptive, most notably courtesy of an all-new gearbox.
The RB3 had a long wheelbase but the RB4's was even longer, allowing the team to move the weight distribution forwards. Indeed, in this department the Austrian team had the edge over its rivals for it meant better aerodynamic efficiency. That said, the downside meant the car was not impressive in slow corners where it struggled for traction.
While Singapore was the team's first mechanical retirement of the season, the oil leak in Germany not really counting, it should not be forgotten that the team suffered a number of suspension failures, most notably in Australia after Coulthard made contact with Massa. There was another failure in Malaysia when the wishbones disintegrated after Coulthard hit a kerb, the team subsequently admitting that it was slow to react to an obvious problem.
The other problem for the Milton Keynes team was the Renault powerplant, which lost more and more ground to its rivals as the season progressed. With Toro Rosso using the same chassis, albeit with a totally different set-up and different braking systems, the Renault's power deficit was notable when compared to the Ferrari.
By and large it was a poor season for Coulthard who had more than his fair share of incidents over the course of the year, even what was to be his final Grand Prix ended at the first corner. However, a typically mature performance in Canada saw the Scotsman finish third, giving the team its best result of the season.
The first half of the season was good for Webber, who scored points in seven of the first nine races. However, as the team lost ground in the latter stages of the season, the Australian had to battle for whatever scraps he could find.
The raft of new regulations for 2009 were a godsend for Adrian Newey, who was finally able to make his mark at Milton Keynes. For a start off the RB5 looked good, Newey demonstrating that the new breed of F1 car didn't have to be ugly.
However, looks aside, the RB5 was radical, not least in terms of returning to pull-rod rear suspension. Newey interpreted the new rules brilliantly, lowering the centre of gravity and using the profiled upper wishbone to add extra downforce. In short, the RB5 was a masterpiece, however, Newey has missed out on one little trick… the double diffuser.
That said, in the opening part of the season, the RB5 gave the Brawn a run for its money, and once the double diffuser was given the all-clear by the FIA, and the Milton Keynes outfit was successfully running its own version, it was the Austrian car that led the way.
For the new season, Webber was joined by German hot-shot Sebastian Vettel, giving the team one of the most dynamic line-ups on the grid.
While both drivers finished well outside the points in Australia, a few weeks later in China the team claimed its first pole position and went on to score its first victory, indeed, it was a 1-2 with Vettel leading his Australian teammate home.
The double diffuser was introduced in time for Monaco but made no real impression. Indeed, despite the lack of time and resources in the weeks that followed the team was forced having to make all manner of changes to the car in order to get the best out of the new package. Consequently, by the time of the British Grand Prix the car was effectively the RB5B.
The fast flowing corners of the Northamptonshire track perfectly suited the Red Bull and it came as no surprise to see the team take another 1-2. A couple of weeks later the Milton Keynes outfit score another 1-2 this time Mark Webber doing the honours.
By this stage in the season Brawn was clearly suffering, the Brackley car proving uncompetitive in the cooler conditions. However, it wasn't all plain sailing for Red Bull, other than being hard on their tyres both drivers suffered more than their fair share of engine problems. Indeed, by the time of the Belgian GP Vettel had used his allocation of new units forcing his team into a 'mix and match' situation.
With an eye of the engine situation - Webber had used up his allocation by Brazil - the team had to resort to limiting its track time, though both drivers handled the situation admirably.
In the closing stages both drivers were in with a shout of claiming the title but a poor weekend in Italy ended all hopes for Webber while Vettel's challenge lasted just a few weeks longer.
The season ended with Red Bull second in the Constructors' Championship, 19 points down on Brawn, but with 6 wins, 5 poles and 6 fastest laps. Not a bad haul when you think about it.
Other than Brawn's early advantage, mainly courtesy of the double diffuser, it was poor reliability and the odd mistake that cost the Milton Keynes outfit any hope of robbing its Brackley rival of its fairytale result. In that one season, the Austrian outfit had moved up from midfield to the big league, and they not only did it in style they looked as though they belonged there.
Webber and Vettel were retained for 2010, while, to the surprise of many, the Austrian outfit also opted to remain with Renault. Australian Daniel Ricciardo and New Zealander Brendon Hartley were recruited as test and reserve drivers, the pair alternating on a race by race basis.
Without doubt, the RB6 was the class of the 2010 grid. However, reliability issues, certainly during the early part of the season, not to mention over-enthusiasm on the part of its two drivers, meant the Milton Keynes outfit made hard work of winning both titles.
Adrian Newey made full use of the change in attitude towards double diffusers, essentially designing the car around the concept. As in 2009, the new Red Bull looked good, courtesy of a new longer, slimmer gearbox and the fact that Newey stuck with the rear suspension package introduced the previous year.
With Renault failing to make progress, Red Bull looked at an engine deal with Mercedes, however, and quite unsurprisingly, McLaren vetoed the move. The Austrian team also considered Cosworth but the Northamptonshire company didn't have the financial resources to develop the engine and Red Bull wasn't prepared to bankroll such a programme.
At the final pre-season test, the team played its ace card, reverting to a concept first introduced by Renault in the early 80s, the blown diffuser. In it attempts to fool its rivals, the Austrian team stuck dummy exhaust exits on the car, but few fell for it, certainly when it came to studying the stop-watch.
Despite its obvious superiority, a fact compounded by a convincing 1-2 in Malaysia, the third race of the season. Poor reliability and strategy meant that after the first four rounds the team trailed McLaren and Ferrari and was even under pressure from Mercedes.
However, once the European season got underway the RB6 finally began to show its class. Through Barcelona's fast sweeping corners it was mouthwateringly smooth, giving Webber his first win of the season, having taken pole the previous day.
Following Webber's win in Monaco, the team headed to Turkey feeling understandably confident, its rivals fearing that they were in for a long, hot summer. However, an incident on the fortieth lap of the race was to impact the team for the remainder of the season.
With Webber and Vettel looking set for a convincing 1-2, the team's third of the season. The German made a move on his Australian teammate. They clashed, the German eliminated on the spot, while Webber was able to struggle home in third. As Vettel walked away from the scene of the incident, gesticulating in a manner that made it clear he though his teammate was mad, the media got to work.
While the RB6 and the team's driver pairing had looked unbeatable, certainly on track, it now appeared that there were cracks just beneath the surface. There was talk of a split within the team, rival camps, and as the sensational headlines continued fingers were pointed at the perceived trouble makers, Dietrich Mateschitz' motor sport advisor Helmut Marko usually appearing in the firing line.
The Red Bull PR machine spun into action, hosting a 'clear the air' get together for its drivers and issuing a couple of cringeworthy, totally staged, pictures that were meant to suggest 'nothing to see here, move along', but actually conveyed the totally opposite message.
Over the summer, the team carried on with its remorseless development programme, the drivers continued their remorseless battle for in-house supremacy, the media persisted with its remorseless speculation as to favouritism within the team and rivals complained remorselessly to the FIA over perceived irregularities including a flexing front wing.
Despite the obvious superiority of the RB6, the team and its drivers continued to shoot itself in the foot. At Silverstone Vettel picked up a puncture after running wide in the first corner and dropped to the back of the field. However, matters weren't helped when race-winner Webber took a wipe at Christian Horner over the team radio after crossing the line; "not bad for a number two", said the Australian, much to the Englishman's obvious delight.
There was further embarrassment when it was revealed that after complains about his own car, Vettel had been given his teammate's earlier in the season, while at Silverstone, having damaged his own front wing, the German had been given the replacement originally made for his teammate.
In Hungary, while running second, the German was penalised for leaving too big a gap between himself and the Safety Car. In Belgium Vettel made a needless challenge on Button which saw both eliminated, while in Korea Webber went out following a needless mistake and Vettel suffered a late engine failure.
As the season reached its climax, with five drivers still in with a shout, the internal spat continued, much to the delight of the media. While Webber had effectively blown his chances in Korea, he was still second in the championship behind Alonso. Therefore, going into the final race the big question was not only whether Red Bull would use team orders but whether its drivers would respect them.
As it happens, team orders weren't needed. A faultless performance from Vettel in Brazil was followed by an equally flawless drive in Abu Dhabi, while a disastrous strategy from Ferrari and a lacklustre performance from Alonso certainly helped.
In its sixth season, Red Bull had won the double. While Vettel was quite rightly lauded, despite some of his sillier mistakes, one couldn't help but fail to marvel at the wonder that is Adrian Newey, the man having added yet another title to an already mightily impressive CV.
Vettel pretty much set the precedent for the season in Melbourne, taking pole position with apparent ease and converting this in to a win the following day.
The German continued in Malaysia, taking pole from Hamilton in the dying moments of the session by just one tenth of a second and going on to win the race by three seconds from Jenson Button.
Vettel once again took pole in China, while team-mate Webber made a poor tyre choice and was eliminated in Q1 for the first time in two years. Vettel made a poor start in the race and was quickly overcome by the McLarens. Button and Vettel pitted together, but the Englishman mistakenly pulled up in the Red Bull pit allowing Vettel to get back out onto the circuit in front of him. The lead changed several times as the race progressed before Vettel settled into position, but on deteriorating tyres, he was caught and passed by Hamilton four laps from the end. Having started in eighteenth position, Mark Webber recovered to achieve the third podium place.
Vettel took his fourth pole of the season in Turkey, becoming the first person to start the first four races on pole since Mika Hakkinen in 1999. The German led the race from the lights to the flag, ahead of Webber and Fernando Alonso.
Webber ended Vettel's run of consecutive pole positions in Spain, but fourth-starting Fernando Alonso led the field into the first corner and through much of the early phase of the race. He was eventually overtaken in the pits by Vettel who went on to win the race.
While the Monaco Grand Prix weekend was marred by a string of accidents it was business as usual for Vettel who took both pole position and the race, though, like second-placed Alonso, he benefited hugely from a late red flag which allowed him to change his deteriorating tyres and thereby hold off Button.
Having shown a remarkable improvement on 2010 in terms of mistakes, there was a rare error from Vettel in Canada, a last lap mistake allowing Button to take his first win of the season. That said, the constantly changing conditions in a race that goes down as the longest in F1 history, perfectly suited the Englishman.
The introduction of Pirelli's medium-compound tyre at Valencia made little difference to the pattern, Vettel taking pole and the victory, only ceding the lead when he pitted.
Even the (temporary) ban on blown diffusers at Silverstone had little impact of the Red Bull/Sebastian Vettel steamroller, for although Alonso took the win - Ferrari's only win of the season - Vettel and Webber finished a strong second and third.
Webber achieved his second successive pole position in Germany, while Hamilton denied Red Bull a front-row lock-out by qualifying second. Vettel qualified third, the first time he had qualified outside the front row since the 2010 Italian Grand Prix. Hamilton took the lead going into the first corner of the race, the early stages of which were marked by the drivers attempting to find grip on an unusually cold circuit. As Hamilton, Alonso and Webber pulled away, Vettel struggled to match their pace following a spin at Turn 10. There were multiple lead changes between Hamilton, Webber and Alonso, with Hamilton capitalising on a slow in-lap by Alonso and a strategy error from Red Bull to secure victory. Alonso finished second, with Webber third, while Vettel took fourth from Massa when the two drivers pitted on the final lap.
Vettel returned to pole position in Hungary; however, Hamilton qualified second and was able to save an extra set of softer option tyres for the race. Vettel established an early lead, but was soon passed by Hamilton and Button as a dry line appeared. A mid-race shower on the fortieth lap led to Hamilton spinning allowing Button to close the gap. While Button went on to win the race, Vettel, benefiting form a drive-through for Hamilton, finished second.
Belgium marked a run of three races in which Vettel took pole and won the race, Webber by now losing ground to Button. Indeed, after Singapore, Button headed to Japan as the only man who could prevent Vettel taking his second title, though even then the odds were slim.
The German, who had out-qualified Button by just nine-thousandths of a second, forced the McLaren driver wide at the start, but he was able to recover, under-cutting Vettel in the pits during the second round of stops. Button went on to win the race, his third victory of the season, while Vettel finished third, securing his second title. Webber finished the race fourth, the Australian now seeking to take the runner-up spot in the title championship.
Hamilton and McLaren ended Red Bull's monopoly on pole position in Korea, the Englishman edging out Vettel by two tenths of a second. However, the German took the lead early in the race and remained unthreatened for the rest of the afternoon. Poor strategy saw Webber lose out to Hamilton for second, the McLaren driver's first podium position since his victory in Germany.
The inaugural Indian Grand Prix saw Vettel take pole, fastest lap and lead every lap of the race, the German showing no sign of easing up despite having won the title.
In Abu Dhabi, Vettel equalled Nigel Mansell's record of fourteen pole positions in a season when he took pole. However, despite leading into the first corner he spun off at Turn 2 with a right rear puncture. He subsequently pitted only to retire with suspension damage. Teammate Webber could only manage fourth.
At the final race of the season in Brazil, Vettel broke Mansell's record, taking his fifteenth pole position of the season. However, next day it was Webber who emerged victorious, the Australian scoring his first win since Hungary 2010. With Vettel finishing second, and Webber taking third in the final standings, one point ahead of Alonso, many believed the win to be more about team orders than a late improvement from the Australian.
If 2010 was good, 2011 was an absolute tour de force, the team only suffering one retirement, and that due to damage caused by a damaged tyre in Abu Dhabi. The team led the way in reliability, completing 95.5% of the total season laps, while the pit work was amongst the best in the pitlane.
The only down side in 2011 was the team's failure to get its KERS working consistently, particularly in the early stages of the season, and further strategic errors.
That aside, the team was pretty much perfect, and with few rule changes for 2012, few would bet against Adrian Newey, Christian Horner, Dietrich Mateschitz, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber adding further silver to the Milton Keynes cabinet.
Statistics - at the end of 2011 Season
Drivers' Titles: 2
Constructors' Titles: 2
Seasons in F1: 7
Grand Prix: 126
Wins: 27
Poles: 38
Fastest Laps: 22
Best result in 2011: 1st (12 times)
Best qualifying 2011: Pole (18 times)
Worst qualifying 2011: 18th (Webber - China)
2011: Vettel out-qualified Webber 16 times
2011: Webber out-qualified Vettel 3 times
2011: Completed 2163 out of 2266 laps (95.5%)
2011: Finished 36 times from 38 starts (94.7%)
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