Tag Archive | Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber is preparing to begin his seventh consecutive season with reigning Constructors’ Champions Red Bull, after joining the outfit back in 2007 after a stint with Williams. The Australian driver has won all of his nine Grands Prix with the Austrian outfit, and will be aiming to add to that tally in the coming season.

After two seasons in Formula 1, which included numerous drivers working alongside David Coulthard including the likes of Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi, Red Bull signed Mark Webber to partner the former McLaren driver. Once Coulthard retired after the 2008 season, Webber was joined by rising Red Bull protege Sebastian Vettel. Despite Vettel’s sensational rise to dominance in only a short space of time, Mark Webber has still enjoyed a prosperous career at the outfit, and is adamant he can become a Championship contender in the forthcoming season.

“The fact that this is my seventh season with the team is a massive advantage,” explained Mark Webber, after unveiling the new RB9 with team-mate Sebastian Vettel. “I couldn’t have envisaged it when I joined and it’s hard to believe that you could be with the same Formula One team for seven years, as continuity is not always easy to achieve in this sport. I’ve really enjoyed the years I’ve had here so far and I can’t wait to get going this season.

“Yes I do believe I can have a crack at the Championship again this year as I have done in previous seasons,” continued Mark Webber. “That’s my goal and that’s what I’m getting up each day thinking about and working hard with the team on doing that. They know that I need 100% support; you can’t fight for the Championships with 90%, you need 100%, and that’s what we’re going in to 2013 with this in place and I’m comfortable with that.”

Despite slightly controversial comments from Red Bull’s own Helmut Marko throughout recent weeks with regards to Mark Webber, both himself and the team are certainly remaining optimistic ahead of the new season. Although Sebastian Vettel remains widely regarded as the man to beat this year, Mark Webber will undoubtedly be striving to remain at the sharp-end of the pecking order throughout the year.

February 3, 2013

in Formula 1, Red Bull, Tracks
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Red Bull Reveal New RB9 Car

Red Bull have revealed the machine they hope will be able to retain the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship, after a slightly secretive unveiling at their factory in Milton Keynes ahead of the new season. The team will run the car for the first time this coming week at the first pre-season test at Jerez, with Mark Webber behind the wheel on day one.

The reigning Constructors’ Champions became the fifth consecutive team to unveil their car earlier today, following on from McLaren, Ferrari, Force India and Sauber. Although very few images of the RB9 have been officially released, illustrations of the new car reveal slightly slimmer sidepods reminiscent of Sauber, a minor step in the nose in comparison to the RB8 and no “letterbox” slot on the nose of the car which was one of the major attractions this time last year.

With Red Bull securing a more prominent collaboration with Japanese car manufacturer Infiniti, the new RB9 features an increased amount of Infiniti logos on the car, most visibly across the sidepods. The car has also undergone a slight color change during the winter period, with the new RB9 now featuring an increased amount of purple along with the traditional blue.

“Our stronger link with Infiniti from 2013 is part of the natural evolution of our team and demonstrates its growth.” Explained Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner, “We are still a young racing outfit and this title partnership is a very welcome aspect of our development. I firmly believe it will prove to be of enormous benefit on both sides over the coming years.”

The new RB9, like with many other new machines already unveiled up and down the grid, is not hugely different to its predecessor. This is largely due to the lack of regulation changes for the forthcoming season, which has therefore forced Adrian Newey to design what he has dubbed an evolution of the successful RB8 machine. The new challenger features only subtle modifications in comparison to last year, but is still regarded as the car to beat in 2013.

“It’s an evolutionary car.” Said Adrian Newey, “There were no big regulation changes over the winter. The most significant change is not the regulations, it’s the new Pirelli tyres. We had a quick test in P1 in Brazil but it was very hot and on a green track and in truth we didn’t learn a lot. It’s really been a case of refining the RB8. There are no huge changes. It’s very much an evolutionary car. All the principles [are] the same as last year. The devil has very much been in the detail with this car. We’ve tidied up some bits that we felt could be improved on. Development is now the key through the year.”

The Milton Keynes-based outfit will run the new RB9 machine for the first time during testing at Jerez in Spain, which gets underway in only a couple of days time. This will be the majority of the teams’ first chances to run their new challengers, as they strive to prepare for the coming season. Mark Webber will get the first taste of the new Red Bull on Tuesday, before handing over to team-mate and reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel on Wednesday.

February 3, 2013