In 2010, the Red Bull team finally realised the title-winning potential it had long threatened to achieve. The Milton Keynes-based outfit beat McLaren and Ferrari to the FIA Constructors’ Championship by a comfortable margin, while the team’s long-nurtured German star Sebastian Vettel took an astonishing last-gasp drivers’ title with victory in three of the last four races, including the season-finale in Abu Dhabi.
Going into 2011, the team continues to hold all the trump cards it has accumulated in recent years – the compact, fuel-efficient Renault engine, the leadership of young team boss Christian Horner and the design genius of geek superstar aerodynamicist Adrian Newey. On the driving front, Red Bull certainly has a wealth of talent, thanks to the speed and nous of Vettel and the Aussie grit of Mark Webber.
In 2010 the cars were almost always the fastest at the track. There were times, however, when that advantage could not be made to count. With both drivers realising that the title would be decided between them, their rivalry overheated and Horner was unable to stop them from colliding into each other – both on and off the track. If there is a weak point then that must be it, especially if the car is competitive, and with Newey overseeing the design there is every reason to suggest it will be. However, with the title such a priority during the final half of the 2010 season, questions will be asked as to whether the team was able to dedicate enough time to designing the 2011 car. One only has to look at the Mercedes team’s fortunes in 2010 to see the impact a sustained title challenge has on resources.
Red Bull aim will be to prove its 2010 success wasn’t a flash in the pan, but the team certainly has a potentially winning hand.
Sebastian Vettel Mark Webber