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{{refimprove|date=June 2008}}
{{Infobox MP

| honorific-prefix =
{{about|the Formula One team|the NASCAR team|Team Red Bull}}
| name = Hugh Mason
{{F1 team |
| honorific-suffix = [[Member of Parliament|MP]]
Constructor_name = {{flagicon|Austria}} Red Bull-Renault |
| image = Hugh Mason MP.jpg
Long_name = Red Bull Racing |
| caption = Portrait of Hugh Mason
Logo = [[Image:Red Bull logo.gif]] |
| constituency_MP2 = [[Ashton-under-Lyne (UK Parliament constituency)|Ashton-under-Lyne]]
Base = [[Milton Keynes]], [[United Kingdom]] |
| parliament2 =
Owner = {{flagicon|Austria}} [[Dietrich Mateschitz]] |
| term_start2 = 3 April 1880
Principal = {{flagicon|UK}} [[Christian Horner]] |
| term_end2 = 25 November 1885
Engineering Head = {{flagicon|UK}} [[Adrian Newey]] |
| majority2 = 380 (6.8%)
Engineering Head position = Chief Technical Officer |
| predecessor2 = [[Thomas Mellor]]
Director = {{flagicon|UK}} [[Geoff Willis]] |
| successor2 = [[John Wentworth Addison]]
Drivers = {{flagicon|UK}}9.[[David Coulthard]]<br>{{flagicon|Australia}}10.[[Mark Webber]] |
| birth_date = 30&nbsp;January 1817
Test_drivers = {{flagicon|Switzerland}}35.[[Sebastien Buemi]] |
| birth_place = [[Stalybridge]], [[Cheshire]], England
Chassis = [[Red Bull RB4]] |
| death_date = 2 February 1886 (age 69)
Engine = [[Renault F1|Renault]] RS27 |
| death_place = [[Ashton-under-Lyne]], [[Lancashire]], England
Tyres = [[Bridgestone]] |
| nationality = [[United Kingdom|British]]
Employees = 49 |
| spouse = Sarah Buckley (1846&ndash;1852); Betsy Buckley (1854&ndash;1861); Anne Ashworth(1864&ndash;1886)
Debut = [[2005 Australian Grand Prix]] |
| party = [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]]
Final = [[2008 Italian Grand Prix]] |
| relations =
Races = 68 |
| children =
Cons_champ = 0 |
| residence = Groby Hall, Jowett's Walk
Drivers_champ = 0 |
| alma_mater =
Wins = 0 |
| occupation = Mill owner
Poles = 0 |
| profession =
Fastest_laps = 0 |
| religion = [[Methodism]]
Last_season = 2007 |
| signature =
Last_position = 5th (24 points)
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
}}
{{portalpar|Formula One}}
'''Hugh Mason''' (30&nbsp;January 1817 &ndash; 2&nbsp;February 1886) was an English [[cotton mill|mill]] owner, [[social reformer]] and [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] politician. He was born in Stalybridge and raised in Stalybridge and Ashton-under-Lyne until he entered the family business in 1838 after a seven&nbsp;year period working in a bank. Having orignally opposed [[trade union]]s, Mason became a paternalistic mill owner, creating a colony for his workers with associated facilities and ensuring that they experienced good conditions. During the Lancashire Cotton Famine of the 1860s he refused to cut workers' wages although it was common practice.
'''Red Bull Racing''' is one of two [[Formula One]] teams owned by [[Austria]]n [[beverage]] company [[Red Bull GmbH|Red Bull]]. (The other is [[Scuderia Toro Rosso]]). The team is managed by [[Christian Horner]], boss of the [[Arden International]] [[GP2 Series]] team.


==Origins==
Mason became the first Liberal politician to be elected councillor for Ashton-under-Lyne in 1856. He was mayor of the council from 1857 to 1860 and retired from local politics in 1874 due to coming into conflict with his own party. Mason returned to the Liberal Party in 1878 when he stood for election as [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Ashton-under-Lyne (UK Parliament constituency)|Ashton-under-Lyne]]. He was voted in and as a politician Mason supported progressive policies, which included [[Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom|women's suffrage]], making him unpopular within his own party. He was MP from 1880 to 1885. When he died in 1886, aged 69, Hugh Mason had amassed £290,933 (now about £17&nbsp;million).
[[Jaguar Racing]] was put up for sale in September 2004 when Ford decided it could "no longer make a compelling business case for any of its brands to compete in F1."<ref>{{cite news| title =Jaguar quits Formula One| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/3665810.stm| publisher=BBC Sport|date =2004-09-17|accessdate =2007-01-28}}</ref> Red Bull, a large energy drinks company, agreed its purchase of Jaguar Racing on the final day of the sale, [[15 November]] [[2004]].<ref name="Jaguarsold">{{cite news|title= Red Bull snaps up Jaguar F1 team|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/4012381.stm|work =| publisher = BBC Sport| date =2004-11-15| accessdate = 2007-01-28}}</ref> BBC Sport reported that Ford asked bidders for a symbolic US$1 in return for a commitment to invest US$400 million in the team over three grand prix seasons.<ref name="Jaguarsold"/> The team continued to have access to the [[Cosworth]] engine developed for their 2005 chassis, and the operation continued under the new title.


Red Bull Racing was not the start of Red Bull's involvement in motorsport. Setting up a Formula One team of its own meant that Red Bull had to end its long-term partnership with the [[Sauber]] Formula One team. The drinks company also runs a young drivers programme, [[Red Bull Junior Team]], whereby Red Bull sponsors promising young drivers. High-profile drivers who have received this backing include [[Enrique Bernoldi]], [[Christian Klien]], [[Patrick Friesacher]], [[Vitantonio Liuzzi]] and [[Scott Speed]]. Red Bull also sponsors many drivers and teams competing in the [[GP2 Series]], Formula One's "feeder" series.
==Biography==
Hugh Mason was born in [[Stalybridge]] on 11&nbsp;May 1817<ref>Nevell (1994), p.&nbsp;42.</ref> and christened there. He was the youngest of four children of Thomas Mason and Mary Mason. Thomas Mason was a former textile manager.<ref name="Nevell 43">Nevell (1994), p.&nbsp;43.</ref> The family had moved to Stalybridge in 1776 after moving from [[Derbyshire]].<ref name="Tameside">{{cite web |title=Township Information - Ashton |url=http://www.tameside.gov.uk/ashton/history |publisher=Tameside.gov.uk}} Retrieved on 12&nbsp;September 2008.</ref> After working as the manager of a mill in Ashton-under-Lyne, Thomas established his own business in 1815 in partnership with James Booth and Edward Hulton at Currier Slacks Mill in [[Ashton-under-Lyne]]. Rapid growth in their enterprise saw them expand into the Bank Mill and Royal George Mills in the 1820s and Albion Mill in the 1830s. At the age of 10, Hugh was working in the mill,<ref name="Tameside"/> and his education consisted of attending [[Methodist]] [[Sunday school]]s in Ashton-under-Lyne and Stalybridge and spending three years at a private school in Ashton-under-Lyne.<ref name="Nevell 43"/>


Red Bull Racing was one of only four teams (the others being Ferrari, [[Midland F1]] and [[WilliamsF1]]) to have signed the [[Concorde Agreement]] starting in 2008, guaranteeing its long-term involvement in Formula One. However, more recently further teams have submitted entries securing the future of [[Formula One]].
After leaving school at the age of 14, Hugh got a job with the district bank while he attended night school in his spare time. He worked in the bank before leaving in 1838 at the age of 21 to join the family's cotton business. Hugh Mason became the driving force behind the business.<ref name="Nevell 43"/> The business thrived: by the early 1850s the Mason family had built two state-of-the-art cotton mills in the [[Ryecroft, Greater Manchester|Ryecroft]] area of Ashton under Lyne, known as the Oxford Mills. In 1845, to house the workers for the mills, Hugh began construction of a "workers' colony". The colony not only provided 150 terrace houses (housing an estimated 691 people in 1872) but also leisure facilities such as a library, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, and a reading room.<ref>Nevell (1994), pp.&nbsp;44&ndash45.</ref> Mason built up what he saw it as a model industrial community,<ref name="Tameside"/> and according to Mason himself, the annual death rate was significantly lower than in the rest of Ashton-under-Lyne.<ref>Nevell (1994), p.&nbsp;44.</ref> Residents were expected to adhere to his strict moral code and Mason discouraged the use of [[public house]]s.<ref name="Tameside"/> Some of these houses still survive, including "The Twelve Apostles" in Trafalgar Square, Hamilton Street, Gibson Terrace (Oxford Street). He estimated that establishing the settlement cost him around £10,000 and would require a further £1,000 a year to maintain (about £600,000 today and a further £60,000 to maintain).<ref name="Nevell 45"/><ref name="currency"/>


Although the team has yet to win a Grand Prix in its current guise, as [[Stewart Grand Prix]], it did win the [[1999 European Grand Prix]] with [[Johnny Herbert]].
Under Hugh's leadership, the company prospered. The number of spindles in use at the mills increased from 20,000 in 1846 to 75,000 in 1887. His two brothers also worked in the company until Henry and Booth retired in 1848<ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=20909|startpage=3856|date=27 October 1848|accessdate=2008-10-02}}</ref> and 1853 respectively.<ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=21461|startpage=2067|date=26 July 1853|accessdate=2008-10-02}}</ref> Their father remained active in the company until 1860 when he retired, leaving Hugh as the sole owner.<ref name="Nevell 43"/><ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=22376|startpage=1456|date=13 April 1860|accessdate=2008-10-02}}</ref> The [[Manchester Cotton Company]] was set up in 1860 and Hugh's success in business led him to become its chairman until its winding up, which began in 1864,<ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=22896|startpage=4587|date=23 September 1864|accessdate=2008-10-02}}</ref> but was not concluded until 1867.<ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=23339|startpage=10|date=3 January 1868|accessdate=2008-10-02}}</ref> He served as President of the [[Manchester]] [[Chamber of Commerce]] from 1871 to 1874, and came to hold interests in the [[Bridgewater Canal]] Navigation Company, the [[Midland Railway Company]], the [[Mersey Docks and Harbour Company|Mersey Dock Board]], and various other coal and iron companies.<ref name="Nevell 43"/>
Having initially opposed trade unions and factory legislation, Hugh changed his mind around the 1850s regarding how workers should be treated, believing that the welfare of the employees impacted on the welfare of the employer.<ref name="Nevell 45"/> He became popular among workers for such things as becoming the first local employer to give his workers Saturday afternoons off.<ref name="Tameside"/><ref name="Nevell 45"/> During the [[Lancashire Cotton Famine]] of 1861&ndash;1865 he refused to cut workers' wages as was common during the period. He stated that:<ref name="Nevell 45"/> {{quote|I will keep my work people employed, and if there is no work, lend them money from my own pocket rather than have them apply for relief. The poor rate is only 1''s'' 6''d'' in the pound. I will pay as high a poor rate as the Poor Law Guardians deem necessary.}}


==2005 season==
As well as this, he contributed £500 (about the equivalent of £30,000 today) to the Ashton borough cotton famine relief.<ref name="Nevell 45"/> During the tumultuous 1870s and 1880s, Mason kept his workforce fully employed and continued to invest in his mills. By 1884, wages in his mills were 25% higher than they had been in 1870 even though his employees were working fewer hours. The ''[[Manchester Guardian]]'' noted that:<ref name="Nevell 45"/>
[[Image:Klien (Red Bull) in practice at USGP 2005.jpg|thumb|left|450px|[[Christian Klien]] during qualifying at the [[2005 United States Grand Prix]]]]


Red Bull's owner, [[Dietrich Mateschitz]], reportedly tried to recruit former Formula One driver and [[BMW Motorsport]] chief (and fellow [[Austria]]n) [[Gerhard Berger]] to help guide the team through its debut season. However, this was never realised. For [[2005 Formula One season|2005]], the chassis was christened the '''RB1'''. Red Bull Racing used [[Cosworth]] engines in its maiden year due to the ease of continuing with the engine Jaguar Racing used.
{{quote|Hugh Mason is one of the first amongst those wealthy manufacturers of Lancashire who devote the hours which are not occupied by business to the service of their fellow men. He has been accustomed to take a leading part in the various public improvements, and he has long been a political chief. At Ashton he is unpopular: the ruggedness which mars his virtues, and the self assertion which stamps his conduct, do not invite the affection of his fellow. Although he has done more than any other millowner on securing the physical and social well-being of his employees, he is not highly esteemed. He has built for his workpeople admirable cottages, swimming baths, gymnasiums and lecture halls, but beneficent acts do not suffice to secure popularity unless there is a suavity of manner and sympathy of nature in the benefactor, and these are qualities which Mr Mason lacks. Mr Mason is a staunch liberal, and is reckoned to be one of the oracles of the local party. His figure is a familiar one at free trade meetings where the citizens of Manchester never fail to receive him with the utmost enthusiasm. The working men hail his appearance with tempestuous applause, and invariable reward his rhetorical efforts with frequent and deafening cheers.}}


Former [[Team McLaren|McLaren]] driver [[David Coulthard]] led the team. Coulthard was chosen for his experience, considered ideal to help lead the fledgling team. For the second car, Red Bull shared the drive between two of its young sponsored drivers: [[Christian Klien]], who had driven for Jaguar in [[2004 Formula One season|2004]] and 2004 [[F3000]] champion [[Vitantonio Liuzzi]]. At first it was announced that Klien and Liuzzi would swap driving duty every four races, but by the end of the season Liuzzi had appeared only four times.
In 1846 Hugh married Sarah Buckley, the daughter of Abel Buckley, another cotton mill owner who went on to be a millionaire businessman and landowner. They had one child: Arnold in 1851. Sarah died in 1852 at the age of 29. Hugh next married Sarah's sister: Betsy, though it was illegal to marry your sister in law in England at the time. To overcome this problem they married in Denmark on 7&nbsp;June 1854. Their marriage was by special licence from the King of Denmark held at the Evangellic Reform Church, Altona in the Duchy of Holstein. Betsy and Hugh had four&nbsp;children: Bertha in 1855, Edith in 1857, Rupert in 1859 and Sydney in 1861. Betsy died after the birth of Sydney and Mason then married Anne Ashworth in 1864.<ref>{{cite book |title=''Manchester Times'' |date=15&nbsp;June 1854}}<br />·{{cite book |title=''The Morning Chronicle'' |date=16&nbsp;June 1854}}</ref>


Red Bull's first year in Formula 1 was a massive success compared to their predecessors, Jaguar Racing. They were 6th in the Constructors Championship for most of the season, only beaten by the fast-improving [[BAR Honda]]s at the end of the season. In a single season they amassed more points than Jaguar had in 2003 and 2004. Coulthard, after a poor 2003 and 2004 with McLaren was a revelation for the team while Klien showed that he has vastly improved from 2004. In all they collected 34 Points, 24 for Coulthard, 9 for Klien and 1 for Liuzzi. Red Bull was a consistent points and occasional podium challenger for most of their debut season.
Hugh Mason died three days after his 69th birthday on 2&nbsp;February 1886<ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=25610|startpage=3589|date=23 July 1886|accessdate=2008-10-02}}</ref> at his home, Groby Hall. At his death, he had amassed a fortune worth £290,933 (now worth about £17M).<ref name="Nevell 47">Nevell (1994), p.&nbsp;47.</ref><ref name="currency">{{cite web |title=Currency converter |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/ |publisher=[[The National Archives]]}} Retrieved on 12&nbsp;September 2008.</ref> He was the first person to have a statue (now protected as a Grade II [[listed building]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Hugh Mason memorial statue |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=212658 |publisher=Images of England}} Retrieved on 12&nbsp;September 2008.</ref> erected in his honour in [[Tameside]]; it was financed by public subscription immediately after Mason's death.<ref name="Nevell 47"/>


American driver [[Scott Speed]], who rose through the ranks in the American equivalent of Red Bull Junior Team, [[Red Bull Driver Search]], was Red Bull Racing's [[third driver]] in 2005 for the Canadian and United States Grand Prix. Speed was attractive to Red Bull because of his American nationality, which would raise the profile of both Red Bull and Formula One in America, a market where the sport has traditionally struggled to make an impact.
==Politics==
===Local===
Hugh Mason was influenced by his father's politics who was a Liberal and strongly opposed to injustice and prejudice. Thomas Mason was a supporter of political representation for Ashton-under-Lyne and supported the repeal of the [[Corn Laws]]. Hugh said of his father that "To his life of honest industry, to his example of commercial probity, to his high Christian character, to his training, of me in my early years, to his wise consuls, I owe under God my position in society."<ref name="Nevell 43"/>


==2006 season==
Although he claimed he was reluctant to enter politics, Hugh Mason became the first elected [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] councillor for Ashton-under-Lyne in November 1856. He represented the Portland Place [[Wards of the United Kingdom|ward]] from 1856 until his retirement from politics in 1874. Mason quickly made an impression and was elected mayor for three consecutive years between 1857 and 1860, something which had never happened before.<ref name="Nevell 45">Nevell (1994), p.&nbsp;45.</ref> He supported progressive measures such as the opening of a public park, the provision of public libraries, and addressing unsanitary conditions in parts of Ashton-under-Lyne.<ref name="Nevell 45"/>
On [[23 April]] [[2005]], the team announced a deal to use [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] engines in 2006. This coincided with a rule change mandating the use of [[V8 engine]]s, making it likely that both Red Bull Racing and Ferrari would use the same specification engine. Red Bull Racing continued to use [[Michelin]] tyres, rather than the [[Bridgestone]]s used by Ferrari and came to be seen as politically close to Ferrari (much like [[Sauber]] used to be).


[[Image:David Coulthard USA 2006.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Coulthard driving the [[Red Bull RB2|RB2]] at the [[2006 United States Grand Prix]].]]
Mason's policies led him to come into constant clashes with the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] members of the council. He was not always popular within his own party either and he even financed his own newspaper, the ''Ashton-under-Lyne News'', to convey his views and provide competition for the pro-Liberal ''Ashton Reporter''. Conflict with his own party drove Mason into early retirement from local politics in 1874 at the age of 57.<ref name="Nevell 46">Nevell (1994), p.&nbsp;46.</ref>


On [[December 15]], [[2005]], the team's second car, the [[Red Bull RB2]], hit the track for the first time. David Coulthard completed a handful of laps of the [[Silverstone Circuit|Silverstone]] circuit in England, and declared the new car was a "sexy thing." In early testing Red Bull was plagued with cooling problems and overheating of car components.
As well as being a councillor, Mason was also elected a local magistrate for Ashton-under-Lyne in 1857. During his time in office he had to deal with the bread riots in of 21&ndash;22&nbsp;March 1863 caused by the cotton famine and the Murphy Riots in May 1868. He personally went to one mob during the Murphy Riots to read them the [[riot act]] face-to-face.<ref name="Nevell 46"/> He was appointed a [[Deputy Lieutenant]] of the [[County Palatine of Lancaster]] on 21 June 1862.<ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=22535|startpage=3534|date=15 July 1862|accessdate=2008-10-02}}</ref>


At the opening race of the 2006 season in [[Bahrain]], [[Christian Klien]] qualified eighth (ahead of [[Giancarlo Fisichella]]'s Renault and both BMWs). Coulthard had problems when he flat spotted a tyre fighting with [[Nick Heidfeld]], and finished 10th; the cooling problems returned when his [[Ferrari]] engine expired on the slowing down lap, forcing a grid penalty for the following race. In [[2006 Malaysian Grand Prix|Malaysia]], Coulthard made up several places from back of the grid but was forced to retire with hydraulic problems, while Klien had an opening lap incident with Kimi Räikkönen and also retired. Coulthard got a point in the Australian Grand Prix after Scott Speed was penalised for passing him under the yellow flags. The following races were marred with retirements and lowly finishes.
===National===
Mason, along with a group of other Liberals, was one of the founding members of the Manchester Reform Club. Although he retired from local politics because of conflict with the Liberals, by 1878 he was back in favour and Liberal councillors were encouraging Mason to stand for [[parliament]]ary election.<ref name="Nevell 46"/> Although he was a popular candidate, he was initially reluctant to put himself forward. However, he stood for the [[United Kingdom general election, 1880|1880 General Elections]]. His campaign in March and April 1880 involved vitriolic attacks on the local Conservative Party and on 3&nbsp;April 1880 he was elected [[Member_of_Parliament#United_Kingdom|MP]] for [[Ashton-under-Lyne (UK Parliament constituency)|Ashton-under-Lyne]], beating his opponent, [[John Ross Coulthart]], by 2,966 votes to 2,586.<ref>Nevell (1994), pp.&nbsp;46&ndash;47.</ref><ref>{{LondonGazette|issue=24830|startpage=2390|date=6 April 1880|accessdate=2008-10-02}}</ref>


Coulthard finished 3rd at the Monaco Grand Prix, the team's first podium finish. Team boss [[Christian Horner]] said before the race that if one of his cars were to finish on the podium, he would jump in to a swimming pool at the track naked. He ended up jumping into the pool wearing only a red cape. Coincidentally both [[Stewart Grand Prix]] and [[Jaguar Racing|Jaguar]], the team's predecessors, also scored their maiden podiums at that race.
As an MP, Mason supported many reformist bills and became a spokesman of the [[Women's Suffrage Association]] in 1881. He proposed motions for women's suffrage in 1881 and again in 1883 but was defeated on both occasions.<ref name="Nevell 47"/> He led the women's suffrage movement until 1883 when illness forced him to retreat from public life temporarily. Mason's defeat in the [[United Kingdom general election, 1885|1885 General Elections]] was ascribed to his support of [[William Gladstone]] over Ireland and his illness. He lost to the Conservative [[John Wentworth Addison]] by 3,152 votes to 3,104. Mason demanded a recount, however this increased the majority by one vote; Mason succumbed to illness and died before the result was announced.<ref name="Nevell 47"/>
[[Image:Robert Doornbos 2006 Brazil.jpg|thumb|right|[[Robert Doornbos]] replaced Klien for the last three races of the [[2006 Formula One season|2006 season]].]]

Coulthard scored a point at Montreal, passing fellow Briton [[Jenson Button]] in the closing stages of the race. Klien also fared well, driving the second RB2 to 11th position. At the US Grand Prix Klien retired along with eight other cars including Toro Rosso driver Scott Speed on the first lap after a series of first corner incidents. Coulthard finished 7th.

The team finished 7th in the FIA Constructors Championship, with 16 points, five points ahead of the [[WilliamsF1|Williams]] team. David Coulthard (13pts) finished in 13th place in the drivers' standings, the departed Klien (2pts) classified in 18th position. Klien's replacement, [[Robert Doornbos]], failed to score any points. On [[November 8]], [[2005]], Red Bull Racing poached [[Adrian Newey]], the highly successful [[McLaren]] technical director.<ref>{{cite news|title =Newey makes shock Red Bull move| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/4416342.stm| work =| publisher = BBC Sport| date = 2005-11-05 | accessdate = 2007-01-28}}</ref>

{{-}}
==2007 season==
[[Image:David Coulthard 2007 Canada.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[David Coulthard]] driving for the team at the [[2007 Canadian Grand Prix]].]]
[[Image:Mark Webber 2007 Britain 2.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Mark Webber]] driving for RBR at the [[2007 British Grand Prix]]. Note the special ''Wings for Life'' livery.]]
2007 saw the debut of the Adrian Newey designed RB3. After lengthy discussions over Red Bull Racing's obligation to continue to use Ferrari engines for 2007, the team announced on [[31 August]] [[2006]] they would use Renault engines for the 2007 season [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/6103248.stm], the Ferrari contract being passed to Scuderia Toro Rosso.

The team announced on August 7th, 2006 that it had signed [[Mark Webber]] to drive alongside David Coulthard for the 2007 season, replacing [[Christian Klien]] who ended his association with the team. Klien was replaced by [[Robert Doornbos]] for the last three races of 2006.[http://www.redbullracing.com/switch.action?lang=en#page=NewsPage.1154964339449-1477963381]. Robert Doornbos has been announced as the team's third driver for 2007.[http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/56487]

Despite qualifying in 7th place for his home race in [[2007 Australian Grand Prix|Melbourne]], [[Mark Webber]] finished down in 13th due to a persistent fuel flap that closed as the pit mechanics went to put the fuel in and when it was opened it remained open until the next pit stop greatly increasing drag and decreasing airflow over the rear wing. It was worse for [[David Coulthard]] however, who crashed heavily with [[Williams F1|Williams's]] [[Alexander Wurz]] in the late stages of the race. Malaysia was more of the same for Webber, while Coulthard retired with brake problems. However in Bahrain the team showed improving pace and Coulthard and Webber were running 7th (with Coulthard starting from the back) and 8th respectively before reliability problems put both out of the race in quick succession. However in testing at [[Circuit de Catalunya|Barcelona]] Coulthard has set the fastest lap in the new configuration of the circuit(since superseded by [[Felipe Massa]]). Coulthard secured the team's first points by scoring a gritty 5th with a faulty gearbox on his closing laps in [[2007 Spanish Grand Prix|Spain]], while Webber was dogged with hydraulic problem all weekend, eventually retiring from the race after failing to set a competitive lap in qualifying. The performance hike the team has experienced at the Catalonian track has left both drivers and team optimistic about their future results, with reliability troubles being as much a focus as the increase of their already competitive pace.

Red Bull Racing further strengthened their technical department by hiring [[Geoff Willis]] as Technical Director on [[July 17]], [[2007]].<ref>{{cite news| title =Geoff Willis joins Red Bull Technology| publisher =grandprix.com| url =http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns19409.html| date =[[2007-07-17]]| accessdate =2007-07-18}}</ref>

After this, the drivers seemed to have a stroke of good luck during the unpredictable and exciting [[2007 European Grand Prix]] in which Webber finished 3rd, his second career podium. Coulthard backed it up with a strong 5th which was made all the more impressive by the fact he started 20th on the grid after the team mistakenly kept him in the pits too long resulting in him not being able to complete another qualifying lap.

Red Bull had a strong end to the season. Webber was on the verge of scoring his second podium of the year at the [[2007 Japanese Grand Prix|Japanese Grand Prix]], before being involved in a crash with [[Sebastian Vettel]]. During the same race, Coulthard finished 4th.

At the [[2007 Chinese Grand Prix|Chinese Grand Prix]], Red Bull had a competitive qualifying session. Coulthard achieving 5th on the grid, along with Webber in 9th.

==2008 season==

[[Image:David Coulthard 2008 Canada.jpg|thumb|right|[[David Coulthard]] driving for RBR at the [[2008 Canadian Grand Prix]].]]

Red Bull will continue with the same drivers in 2008 and will have numbers 9 and 10 on their cars after finishing 5th in the 2007 constructors championship. Red Bull presented the RB4 at the Jerez circuit on January 16 and announced that [[Sébastien Buemi]] would be their test and reserve driver for 2008 combining it with his GP2 drive with the [[Arden International]] GP2 team.

In the first eight races of 2008, Mark Webber has continued to star for the team, recording 18 points, including fifth place in [[2008 Spanish Grand Prix|Spain]], and fourth place in [[2008 Monaco Grand Prix|Monaco]]. Melbourne too looked good for Webber, who was in fine form all weekend until brake failure haulted him in qualifying, and a minor collision on the opening lap forced him into retirement.

Webber notched up his 50th top ten grid position at the Spanish Grand Prix, an impressive stat given he has started 107 Grands Prix, mostly in mid-field cars. That makes his top ten start ratio to Grands Prix entered close to 50%.

David Coulthard had a tougher start to the 2008 campaign due to poor qualifying, but a podium finish in [[2008 Canadian Grand Prix|Canada]] gave Red Bull their first podium since the [[2007 European Grand Prix]]. Webber's sixth-place finish at the [[2008 French Grand Prix]] raised the team's 2008 points tally so far to 24, equalling the entire haul from 2007. At the next race the [[2008 British Grand Prix]] Webber managed to qualify on the first row of the grid in second but a spin on first lap, due to a malfunctioning gearbox, pushed him down to an eventual 10th. Coulthard announced his retirement from F1 at the same race and, despite hopes for a strong final home Grand Prix, was forced to retire on the first lap.

==Image and marketing==
[[Image:Red Bull helmet stand.jpg|thumb|150px|left|A distinctive RBR helmet-shaped stand.]]
Red Bull have been very vocal about wanting to make F1 'fun' again. One way in which they went about doing that was by employing Mark Gallagher, who was head of marketing for nine years at Jordan, itself an exciting brand in the late 1990s.[http://sport.guardian.co.uk/formulaone2005/story/0,15808,1425392,00.html]. Red Bull also started [[The Red Bulletin]], a satirical magazine that is released four times per race weekend and distributed to the paddock and to members of the public from behind the main grandstand at each track.

In the [[2006 Monaco Grand Prix]], they supported the movie "[[Superman Returns]]", which continues the line of marketing events begun by the "[[Star Wars: Episode III]]" promotion of 2005 (in the 2005 race, the pit crew dressed up as Imperial Stormtroopers) and the "[[Ocean's Twelve]]" promotion of 2004 when the team ran under the [[Jaguar Racing]] banner. When [[David Coulthard]] finished third in the 2006 race, he donned a Superman cape for his appearance on the podium.
{{-}}

==Scuderia Toro Rosso==
{{main|Scuderia Toro Rosso}}
In the autumn of 2005, Red Bull announced that they had purchased the [[Minardi]] Formula One team, and it would be known as [[Scuderia Toro Rosso]] (Italian for ''Team Red Bull'') from 2006 onwards. Scuderia Toro Rosso (STR) operates as a separate team, but the two share certain technical resources. In 2006 STR used a chassis based on the 2005 Red Bull Racing [[Red Bull RB1]] chassis, originally designed by Jaguar Racing, and Minardi's contracted supply of rev-limited [[V10 engine|V10]] [[Cosworth]] engines. It has been widely speculated that the 2007 chassis for both teams will be essentially the same [[Adrian Newey]] design, although Red Bull has been careful to ensure that the "STR2 will be built by [[Red Bull Technology|Red Bull Technologies]], and Toro Rosso will fully own the intellectual rights of the car."[http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/56126] Formula One teams are not allowed to use another team's chassis. STR has been used as a 'B' team for Red Bull Racing, allowing the company to work with more drivers. In 2005 RBR driver Tonio Liuzzi was given a full time seat with Scuderia Toro Rosso alongside another Red Bull sponsored driver, [[Scott Speed]].

"Tonio" Liuzzi retained his seat in STR for the 2007 season. [[Sebastian Vettel]] replaced Speed in the middle of the 2007 season, and [[Sébastien Bourdais]] replaced Liuzzi at STR for the [[2008 Formula One season]]. Toro Rosso has performed well during the 2008 season and Sebastian Vettel won the [[2008 Italian Grand Prix]].

==Complete Formula One results==
([[:Template:F1 driver results legend 2|key]]) (results in '''bold''' indicate pole position)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%"
! Year
! Chassis
! Engine
! Tyres
! Drivers
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
! 15
! 16
! 17
! 18
! 19
! Points
! WCC
|-
!rowspan="4"| [[2005 Formula One season|2005]]
|rowspan="4"| [[Red Bull RB1]]
|rowspan="4"| [[Cosworth]] [[V10 engine|V10]]
|rowspan="4"| {{Michelin}}
|
| [[2005 Australian Grand Prix|AUS]]
| [[2005 Malaysian Grand Prix|MAL]]
| [[2005 Bahrain Grand Prix|BHR]]
| [[2005 San Marino Grand Prix|SMR]]
| [[2005 Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]]
| [[2005 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]
| [[2005 European Grand Prix|EUR]]
| [[2005 Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]
| [[2005 United States Grand Prix|USA]]
| [[2005 French Grand Prix|FRA]]
| [[2005 British Grand Prix|GBR]]
| [[2005 German Grand Prix|GER]]
| [[2005 Hungarian Grand Prix|HUN]]
| [[2005 Turkish Grand Prix|TUR]]
| [[2005 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]
| [[2005 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]
| [[2005 Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]]
| [[2005 Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]]
| [[2005 Chinese Grand Prix|CHN]]
!rowspan="4"| 34
!rowspan="4"| 7th
|-
| [[David Coulthard]]
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 4
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 6
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 8
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 11
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 8
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 4
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 7
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| DNS
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 10
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 13
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 7
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 7
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 15
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 6
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 9
|-
| [[Christian Klien]]
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 7
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 8
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| DNS
|
|
|
|
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 8
|bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| DNS
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 15
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 9
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 8
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 13
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 9
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 9
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 9
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 5
|-
| [[Vitantonio Liuzzi]]
|
|
|
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 8
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 9
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!rowspan="4"| [[2006 Formula One season|2006]]
|rowspan="4"| [[Red Bull RB2]]
|rowspan="4"| [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] [[V8 engine|V8]]
|rowspan="4"| {{Michelin}}
|
| [[2006 Bahrain Grand Prix|BHR]]
| [[2006 Malaysian Grand Prix|MAL]]
| [[2006 Australian Grand Prix|AUS]]
| [[2006 San Marino Grand Prix|SMR]]
| [[2006 European Grand Prix|EUR]]
| [[2006 Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]]
| [[2006 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]
| [[2006 British Grand Prix|GBR]]
| [[2006 Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]
| [[2006 United States Grand Prix|USA]]
| [[2006 French Grand Prix|FRA]]
| [[2006 German Grand Prix|GER]]
| [[2006 Hungarian Grand Prix|HUN]]
| [[2006 Turkish Grand Prix|TUR]]
| [[2006 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]
| [[2006 Chinese Grand Prix|CHN]]
| [[2006 Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]]
| [[2006 Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]]
|
!rowspan="4"| 16
!rowspan="4"| 7th
|-
| [[David Coulthard]]
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 10
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 8
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 14
|bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| 3
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 12
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 8
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 7
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 9
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 11
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 5
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 15
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 12
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 9
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|
|-
| [[Christian Klien]]
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 8
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 13
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 14
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 11
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 12
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 8
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 11
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 11
|
|
|
|
|-
| [[Robert Doornbos]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 12
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 13
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 12
|
|-
!rowspan="3"| [[2007 Formula One season|2007]]
|rowspan="3"| [[Red Bull RB3]]
|rowspan="3"| [[Renault]] [[V8 engine|V8]]
|rowspan="3"| {{Bridgestone}}
|
| [[2007 Australian Grand Prix|AUS]]
| [[2007 Malaysian Grand Prix|MAL]]
| [[2007 Bahrain Grand Prix|BHR]]
| [[2007 Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]]
| [[2007 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]
| [[2007 Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]
| [[2007 United States Grand Prix|USA]]
| [[2007 French Grand Prix|FRA]]
| [[2007 British Grand Prix|GBR]]
| [[2007 European Grand Prix|EUR]]
| [[2007 Hungarian Grand Prix|HUN]]
| [[2007 Turkish Grand Prix|TUR]]
| [[2007 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]
| [[2007 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]
| [[2007 Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]]
| [[2007 Chinese Grand Prix|CHN]]
| [[2007 Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]]
|
|
!rowspan="3" |'''24'''
!rowspan="3" |'''5th'''
|-
| [[David Coulthard]]
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 5
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 14
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 13
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 11
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 5
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 11
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 10
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 4
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 8
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 9
|
|
|-
| [[Mark Webber]]
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 13
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 10
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 9
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 7
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 12
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| 3
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 9
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 9
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 7
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 10
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|
|
|-
!rowspan="3"| [[2008 Formula One season|2008]]
|rowspan="3"| [[Red Bull RB4]]
|rowspan="3"| [[Renault F1|Renault]] [[V8 engine|V8]]
|rowspan="3"| {{Bridgestone}}
|
| [[2008 Australian Grand Prix|AUS]]
| [[2008 Malaysian Grand Prix|MAL]]
| [[2008 Bahrain Grand Prix|BHR]]
| [[2008 Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]]
| [[2008 Turkish Grand Prix|TUR]]
| [[2008 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]
| [[2008 Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]
| [[2008 French Grand Prix|FRA]]
| [[2008 British Grand Prix|GBR]]
| [[2008 German Grand Prix|GER]]
| [[2008 Hungarian Grand Prix|HUN]]
| [[2008 European Grand Prix|EUR]]
| [[2008 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]
| [[2008 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]
| [[2008 Singapore Grand Prix|SIN]]
| [[2008 Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]]
| [[2008 Chinese Grand Prix|CHN]]
| [[2008 Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]]
|
!rowspan="3"| '''28*'''
!rowspan="3"| '''7th*'''
|-
|[[David Coulthard]]
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 9
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 18
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 12
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 9
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| 3
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 9
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 13
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 14
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 17
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 11
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 16
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 7
|
|
|
|
|-
| [[Mark Webber]]
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 7
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 7
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 5
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 7
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 4
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 12
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 6
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 10
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 9
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| 12
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 8
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| 8
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| Ret
|
|
|
|
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Season in progress


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist}}
===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |first=Mike |last=Nevell |date=1994 |title=The People Who Made Tameside |publisher=Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council |isbn=1-871324-12-2}}
{{refend}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{commons|Red Bull Racing}}
*Records held at Ashton Library Local History section, Old Street, Ashton-under-Lyne.
* [http://www.redbullracing.com/ Red Bull Racing official website]
*D. A. Farnie, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/47905 ‘Mason, Hugh (1817–1886)’], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2005
* [http://pics.redbullf1.com Red Bull Racing official Picture website]
* [http://www.redbull-juniorteam.com/ Red Bull Junior Team]
* [http://www.redbulldriversearch.com/ Red Bull Driver Search]

{{Formula One teams}}
{{RBR}}
{{Formula One constructors}}

[[Category:Formula One constructors]]
[[Category:Formula One entrants]]
[[Category:Milton Keynes]]
[[Category:Red Bull sports teams]]
[[Category:Red Bull Racing| ]]
[[Category:2004 establishments]]
[[Category:Sport in Milton Keynes]]
[[Category:Austrian auto racing teams]]
[[Category:Austrian racecar constructors]]


[[ca:Red Bull Racing]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Hugh}}
[[Category:1817 births]]
[[cs:Red Bull Racing]]
[[Category:1886 deaths]]
[[de:Red Bull Racing]]
[[es:Red Bull Racing]]
[[Category:Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1880-1885]]
[[fr:Red Bull Racing]]
[[gl:Red Bull Racing]]
[[Category:People from Stalybridge]]
[[hr:Red Bull Racing]]
[[id:Red Bull Racing]]
[[it:Red Bull Racing]]
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[[no:Red Bull Racing]]
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[[zh:紅牛車隊]]

Revision as of 15:13, 10 October 2008

This article is about the Formula One team. For the NASCAR team, see Team Red Bull.

Template:F1 team

Red Bull Racing is one of two Formula One teams owned by Austrian beverage company Red Bull. (The other is Scuderia Toro Rosso). The team is managed by Christian Horner, boss of the Arden International GP2 Series team.

Origins

Jaguar Racing was put up for sale in September 2004 when Ford decided it could "no longer make a compelling business case for any of its brands to compete in F1."[1] Red Bull, a large energy drinks company, agreed its purchase of Jaguar Racing on the final day of the sale, 15 November 2004.[2] BBC Sport reported that Ford asked bidders for a symbolic US$1 in return for a commitment to invest US$400 million in the team over three grand prix seasons.[2] The team continued to have access to the Cosworth engine developed for their 2005 chassis, and the operation continued under the new title.

Red Bull Racing was not the start of Red Bull's involvement in motorsport. Setting up a Formula One team of its own meant that Red Bull had to end its long-term partnership with the Sauber Formula One team. The drinks company also runs a young drivers programme, Red Bull Junior Team, whereby Red Bull sponsors promising young drivers. High-profile drivers who have received this backing include Enrique Bernoldi, Christian Klien, Patrick Friesacher, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed. Red Bull also sponsors many drivers and teams competing in the GP2 Series, Formula One's "feeder" series.

Red Bull Racing was one of only four teams (the others being Ferrari, Midland F1 and WilliamsF1) to have signed the Concorde Agreement starting in 2008, guaranteeing its long-term involvement in Formula One. However, more recently further teams have submitted entries securing the future of Formula One.

Although the team has yet to win a Grand Prix in its current guise, as Stewart Grand Prix, it did win the 1999 European Grand Prix with Johnny Herbert.

2005 season

Christian Klien during qualifying at the 2005 United States Grand Prix

Red Bull's owner, Dietrich Mateschitz, reportedly tried to recruit former Formula One driver and BMW Motorsport chief (and fellow Austrian) Gerhard Berger to help guide the team through its debut season. However, this was never realised. For 2005, the chassis was christened the RB1. Red Bull Racing used Cosworth engines in its maiden year due to the ease of continuing with the engine Jaguar Racing used.

Former McLaren driver David Coulthard led the team. Coulthard was chosen for his experience, considered ideal to help lead the fledgling team. For the second car, Red Bull shared the drive between two of its young sponsored drivers: Christian Klien, who had driven for Jaguar in 2004 and 2004 F3000 champion Vitantonio Liuzzi. At first it was announced that Klien and Liuzzi would swap driving duty every four races, but by the end of the season Liuzzi had appeared only four times.

Red Bull's first year in Formula 1 was a massive success compared to their predecessors, Jaguar Racing. They were 6th in the Constructors Championship for most of the season, only beaten by the fast-improving BAR Hondas at the end of the season. In a single season they amassed more points than Jaguar had in 2003 and 2004. Coulthard, after a poor 2003 and 2004 with McLaren was a revelation for the team while Klien showed that he has vastly improved from 2004. In all they collected 34 Points, 24 for Coulthard, 9 for Klien and 1 for Liuzzi. Red Bull was a consistent points and occasional podium challenger for most of their debut season.

American driver Scott Speed, who rose through the ranks in the American equivalent of Red Bull Junior Team, Red Bull Driver Search, was Red Bull Racing's third driver in 2005 for the Canadian and United States Grand Prix. Speed was attractive to Red Bull because of his American nationality, which would raise the profile of both Red Bull and Formula One in America, a market where the sport has traditionally struggled to make an impact.

2006 season

On 23 April 2005, the team announced a deal to use Ferrari engines in 2006. This coincided with a rule change mandating the use of V8 engines, making it likely that both Red Bull Racing and Ferrari would use the same specification engine. Red Bull Racing continued to use Michelin tyres, rather than the Bridgestones used by Ferrari and came to be seen as politically close to Ferrari (much like Sauber used to be).

Coulthard driving the RB2 at the 2006 United States Grand Prix.

On December 15, 2005, the team's second car, the Red Bull RB2, hit the track for the first time. David Coulthard completed a handful of laps of the Silverstone circuit in England, and declared the new car was a "sexy thing." In early testing Red Bull was plagued with cooling problems and overheating of car components.

At the opening race of the 2006 season in Bahrain, Christian Klien qualified eighth (ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella's Renault and both BMWs). Coulthard had problems when he flat spotted a tyre fighting with Nick Heidfeld, and finished 10th; the cooling problems returned when his Ferrari engine expired on the slowing down lap, forcing a grid penalty for the following race. In Malaysia, Coulthard made up several places from back of the grid but was forced to retire with hydraulic problems, while Klien had an opening lap incident with Kimi Räikkönen and also retired. Coulthard got a point in the Australian Grand Prix after Scott Speed was penalised for passing him under the yellow flags. The following races were marred with retirements and lowly finishes.

Coulthard finished 3rd at the Monaco Grand Prix, the team's first podium finish. Team boss Christian Horner said before the race that if one of his cars were to finish on the podium, he would jump in to a swimming pool at the track naked. He ended up jumping into the pool wearing only a red cape. Coincidentally both Stewart Grand Prix and Jaguar, the team's predecessors, also scored their maiden podiums at that race.

Robert Doornbos replaced Klien for the last three races of the 2006 season.

Coulthard scored a point at Montreal, passing fellow Briton Jenson Button in the closing stages of the race. Klien also fared well, driving the second RB2 to 11th position. At the US Grand Prix Klien retired along with eight other cars including Toro Rosso driver Scott Speed on the first lap after a series of first corner incidents. Coulthard finished 7th.

The team finished 7th in the FIA Constructors Championship, with 16 points, five points ahead of the Williams team. David Coulthard (13pts) finished in 13th place in the drivers' standings, the departed Klien (2pts) classified in 18th position. Klien's replacement, Robert Doornbos, failed to score any points. On November 8, 2005, Red Bull Racing poached Adrian Newey, the highly successful McLaren technical director.[3]

2007 season

David Coulthard driving for the team at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix.
Mark Webber driving for RBR at the 2007 British Grand Prix. Note the special Wings for Life livery.

2007 saw the debut of the Adrian Newey designed RB3. After lengthy discussions over Red Bull Racing's obligation to continue to use Ferrari engines for 2007, the team announced on 31 August 2006 they would use Renault engines for the 2007 season [1], the Ferrari contract being passed to Scuderia Toro Rosso.

The team announced on August 7th, 2006 that it had signed Mark Webber to drive alongside David Coulthard for the 2007 season, replacing Christian Klien who ended his association with the team. Klien was replaced by Robert Doornbos for the last three races of 2006.[2]. Robert Doornbos has been announced as the team's third driver for 2007.[3]

Despite qualifying in 7th place for his home race in Melbourne, Mark Webber finished down in 13th due to a persistent fuel flap that closed as the pit mechanics went to put the fuel in and when it was opened it remained open until the next pit stop greatly increasing drag and decreasing airflow over the rear wing. It was worse for David Coulthard however, who crashed heavily with Williams's Alexander Wurz in the late stages of the race. Malaysia was more of the same for Webber, while Coulthard retired with brake problems. However in Bahrain the team showed improving pace and Coulthard and Webber were running 7th (with Coulthard starting from the back) and 8th respectively before reliability problems put both out of the race in quick succession. However in testing at Barcelona Coulthard has set the fastest lap in the new configuration of the circuit(since superseded by Felipe Massa). Coulthard secured the team's first points by scoring a gritty 5th with a faulty gearbox on his closing laps in Spain, while Webber was dogged with hydraulic problem all weekend, eventually retiring from the race after failing to set a competitive lap in qualifying. The performance hike the team has experienced at the Catalonian track has left both drivers and team optimistic about their future results, with reliability troubles being as much a focus as the increase of their already competitive pace.

Red Bull Racing further strengthened their technical department by hiring Geoff Willis as Technical Director on July 17, 2007.[4]

After this, the drivers seemed to have a stroke of good luck during the unpredictable and exciting 2007 European Grand Prix in which Webber finished 3rd, his second career podium. Coulthard backed it up with a strong 5th which was made all the more impressive by the fact he started 20th on the grid after the team mistakenly kept him in the pits too long resulting in him not being able to complete another qualifying lap.

Red Bull had a strong end to the season. Webber was on the verge of scoring his second podium of the year at the Japanese Grand Prix, before being involved in a crash with Sebastian Vettel. During the same race, Coulthard finished 4th.

At the Chinese Grand Prix, Red Bull had a competitive qualifying session. Coulthard achieving 5th on the grid, along with Webber in 9th.

2008 season

David Coulthard driving for RBR at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.

Red Bull will continue with the same drivers in 2008 and will have numbers 9 and 10 on their cars after finishing 5th in the 2007 constructors championship. Red Bull presented the RB4 at the Jerez circuit on January 16 and announced that Sébastien Buemi would be their test and reserve driver for 2008 combining it with his GP2 drive with the Arden International GP2 team.

In the first eight races of 2008, Mark Webber has continued to star for the team, recording 18 points, including fifth place in Spain, and fourth place in Monaco. Melbourne too looked good for Webber, who was in fine form all weekend until brake failure haulted him in qualifying, and a minor collision on the opening lap forced him into retirement.

Webber notched up his 50th top ten grid position at the Spanish Grand Prix, an impressive stat given he has started 107 Grands Prix, mostly in mid-field cars. That makes his top ten start ratio to Grands Prix entered close to 50%.

David Coulthard had a tougher start to the 2008 campaign due to poor qualifying, but a podium finish in Canada gave Red Bull their first podium since the 2007 European Grand Prix. Webber's sixth-place finish at the 2008 French Grand Prix raised the team's 2008 points tally so far to 24, equalling the entire haul from 2007. At the next race the 2008 British Grand Prix Webber managed to qualify on the first row of the grid in second but a spin on first lap, due to a malfunctioning gearbox, pushed him down to an eventual 10th. Coulthard announced his retirement from F1 at the same race and, despite hopes for a strong final home Grand Prix, was forced to retire on the first lap.

Image and marketing

A distinctive RBR helmet-shaped stand.

Red Bull have been very vocal about wanting to make F1 'fun' again. One way in which they went about doing that was by employing Mark Gallagher, who was head of marketing for nine years at Jordan, itself an exciting brand in the late 1990s.[4]. Red Bull also started The Red Bulletin, a satirical magazine that is released four times per race weekend and distributed to the paddock and to members of the public from behind the main grandstand at each track.

In the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix, they supported the movie "Superman Returns", which continues the line of marketing events begun by the "Star Wars: Episode III" promotion of 2005 (in the 2005 race, the pit crew dressed up as Imperial Stormtroopers) and the "Ocean's Twelve" promotion of 2004 when the team ran under the Jaguar Racing banner. When David Coulthard finished third in the 2006 race, he donned a Superman cape for his appearance on the podium.

Scuderia Toro Rosso

Main article: Scuderia Toro Rosso

In the autumn of 2005, Red Bull announced that they had purchased the Minardi Formula One team, and it would be known as Scuderia Toro Rosso (Italian for Team Red Bull) from 2006 onwards. Scuderia Toro Rosso (STR) operates as a separate team, but the two share certain technical resources. In 2006 STR used a chassis based on the 2005 Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB1 chassis, originally designed by Jaguar Racing, and Minardi's contracted supply of rev-limited V10 Cosworth engines. It has been widely speculated that the 2007 chassis for both teams will be essentially the same Adrian Newey design, although Red Bull has been careful to ensure that the "STR2 will be built by Red Bull Technologies, and Toro Rosso will fully own the intellectual rights of the car."[5] Formula One teams are not allowed to use another team's chassis. STR has been used as a 'B' team for Red Bull Racing, allowing the company to work with more drivers. In 2005 RBR driver Tonio Liuzzi was given a full time seat with Scuderia Toro Rosso alongside another Red Bull sponsored driver, Scott Speed.

"Tonio" Liuzzi retained his seat in STR for the 2007 season. Sebastian Vettel replaced Speed in the middle of the 2007 season, and Sébastien Bourdais replaced Liuzzi at STR for the 2008 Formula One season. Toro Rosso has performed well during the 2008 season and Sebastian Vettel won the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Points WCC
2005 Red Bull RB1 Cosworth V10 M AUS MAL BHR SMR ESP MON EUR CAN USA FRA GBR GER HUN TUR ITA BEL BRA JPN CHN 34 7th
David Coulthard 4 6 8 11 8 Ret 4 7 DNS 10 13 7 Ret 7 15 Ret Ret 6 9
Christian Klien 7 8 DNS 8 DNS Ret 15 9 Ret 8 13 9 9 9 5
Vitantonio Liuzzi 8 Ret Ret 9
2006 Red Bull RB2 Ferrari V8 M BHR MAL AUS SMR EUR ESP MON GBR CAN USA FRA GER HUN TUR ITA CHN JPN BRA 16 7th
David Coulthard 10 Ret 8 Ret Ret 14 3 12 8 7 9 11 5 15 12 9 Ret Ret
Christian Klien 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret 13 Ret 14 11 Ret 12 8 Ret 11 11
Robert Doornbos 12 13 12
2007 Red Bull RB3 Renault V8 B AUS MAL BHR ESP MON CAN USA FRA GBR EUR HUN TUR ITA BEL JPN CHN BRA 24 5th
David Coulthard Ret Ret Ret 5 14 Ret Ret 13 11 5 11 10 Ret Ret 4 8 9
Mark Webber 13 10 Ret Ret Ret 9 7 12 Ret 3 9 Ret 9 7 Ret 10 Ret
2008 Red Bull RB4 Renault V8 B AUS MAL BHR ESP TUR MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN EUR BEL ITA SIN JPN CHN BRA 28* 7th*
David Coulthard Ret 9 18 12 9 Ret 3 9 Ret 13 14 17 11 16 7
Mark Webber Ret 7 7 5 7 4 12 6 10 Ret 9 12 8 8 Ret

* Season in progress

References

  1. ^ "Jaguar quits Formula One". BBC Sport. 2004-09-17. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
  2. ^ a b "Red Bull snaps up Jaguar F1 team". BBC Sport. 2004-11-15. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
  3. ^ "Newey makes shock Red Bull move". BBC Sport. 2005-11-05. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
  4. ^ "Geoff Willis joins Red Bull Technology". grandprix.com. 2007-07-17. Retrieved 2007-07-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

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