Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says his team has enjoyed a great season despite the missed opportunities that have cost the outfit a better shot at the titles.
The Milton Keynes-based squad is 42 points behind Brawn in the championship standings with just three races remaining, while Sebastian Vettel is 25 behind Jenson Button with 30 to play for.
Team-mate Mark Webber is already out of contention after retiring from the Singapore Grand Prix.
Red Bull's season has been hit by problems more often that Brawn's, meaning the Renault-powered squad has lost vital points when its car was very strong.
Despite that, Horner says the team has every reason to be proud of its performance this season.
"When you reflect on the season as a whole there's been opportunities that have been lost, but we've had a great season," Horner said in Singapore.
"We've had 12 podiums so far, we've had three wins, we've had four poles. We have scored 109 [sic] points so far and the car has consistently been the best chassis throughout all the circuits that we've been to.
"Obviously there was the controversy with the double diffuser at the beginning of the season, and we had to redesign a lot of the rear end of the car. But I think the team has done brilliant job this year, I really do.
"The team can be proud of what it has achieved this season and there's still three races to go, which is the opportunity for three potential race wins."
He added: "If you had said 12 months ago that we'd be sitting at this stage of the championship I don't think anybody would have believed you. For us we are going to just focus on the remaining three races, as we did this weekend, and it could quite easily had paid off."
Although Horner conceded the team's championship chances are very slim, he insists Red Bull will continue to push hard to try and win the last three races of the year.
"Theoretically we need to win every race with Jenson DNFing in most of them. In reality it's a mountain to climb, but mathematically there's still a chance so we are going to attack the three remaining weekends and try to win all three.
"We had great pace here on a track which theoretically shouldn't have suited the car really well and both drivers had very, very strong pace. We are looking forward to Japan in less than a week."
Monday 28 September 2009
Saturday 26 September 2009
GP Singapore: Qualifying
26 | 09 | 09
Seb will start in second in tomorrow night’s Singapore Grand Prix. Mark was fourth quickest in a Q3 which was red-flagged after Barrichello hit the wall in the final few seconds.
Car 15 Sebastian Vettel, Position 2nd
“Unfortunately, when the red flag came out it was my first run on new tyres. I had previously been on used tyres, so my flying lap wasn’t as easy or relaxed as it might have been. But, at the end of the day, it’s great to be back qualifying near the front, especially on a street circuit. The car has been very good all weekend and I’ve been feeling comfortable. It was a shame the red flag came out, but we’ll keep pushing tomorrow. Let’s see – it’s a long race and it will be tough, but we have all that it takes, so I’m looking forward to it.” Practice 3
Vettel: P2, Best Time: 1:47.909, Laps: 17
Car 14 Mark Webber, Position 4th
“You never think your first run is going to be for the grid, so I think everyone always leaves a little bit of a margin. I was on scrubbed tyres and was banking on a big lap in my second run. I’m not sure who was on new tyres, but we’re fourth so let’s see – it could have been a lot worse. My guys have been absolute superstars this weekend, putting the car back together after yesterday, in very tough working conditions for them here. I have a lot of motivation to reward them tomorrow.”
Practice 3
Webber: P13, Best Time: 1:48.876, Laps: 15
Christian Horner, Team Principal: “An exciting qualifying session. It was disappointing that it got red flagged just before the end, as both our guys were on really strong laps and we felt we could lock out the front row today. But, both drivers drove very well throughout all the sessions and second and fourth are good starting places for tomorrow’s race, which will be long and tough. The spectacle of seeing the cars driving under the lights again here is fantastic.”
Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer Track Support: “A mixed feeling again today. It’s a very good qualifying result, we didn’t expect to be as quick as we are, so second and fourth is very good, but I think we were quicker than our final times show. We didn’t demonstrate exactly what we can do, due to the red flag interrupting the final runs, but let’s see tomorrow. I think we can have a strong race and close the gap to the Brawns here.”
Seb will start in second in tomorrow night’s Singapore Grand Prix. Mark was fourth quickest in a Q3 which was red-flagged after Barrichello hit the wall in the final few seconds.
Car 15 Sebastian Vettel, Position 2nd
“Unfortunately, when the red flag came out it was my first run on new tyres. I had previously been on used tyres, so my flying lap wasn’t as easy or relaxed as it might have been. But, at the end of the day, it’s great to be back qualifying near the front, especially on a street circuit. The car has been very good all weekend and I’ve been feeling comfortable. It was a shame the red flag came out, but we’ll keep pushing tomorrow. Let’s see – it’s a long race and it will be tough, but we have all that it takes, so I’m looking forward to it.” Practice 3
Vettel: P2, Best Time: 1:47.909, Laps: 17
Car 14 Mark Webber, Position 4th
“You never think your first run is going to be for the grid, so I think everyone always leaves a little bit of a margin. I was on scrubbed tyres and was banking on a big lap in my second run. I’m not sure who was on new tyres, but we’re fourth so let’s see – it could have been a lot worse. My guys have been absolute superstars this weekend, putting the car back together after yesterday, in very tough working conditions for them here. I have a lot of motivation to reward them tomorrow.”
Practice 3
Webber: P13, Best Time: 1:48.876, Laps: 15
Christian Horner, Team Principal: “An exciting qualifying session. It was disappointing that it got red flagged just before the end, as both our guys were on really strong laps and we felt we could lock out the front row today. But, both drivers drove very well throughout all the sessions and second and fourth are good starting places for tomorrow’s race, which will be long and tough. The spectacle of seeing the cars driving under the lights again here is fantastic.”
Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer Track Support: “A mixed feeling again today. It’s a very good qualifying result, we didn’t expect to be as quick as we are, so second and fourth is very good, but I think we were quicker than our final times show. We didn’t demonstrate exactly what we can do, due to the red flag interrupting the final runs, but let’s see tomorrow. I think we can have a strong race and close the gap to the Brawns here.”
Tuesday 15 September 2009
Red Bull puts engine decision on hold
Red Bull Racing's 2010 engine plans are on hold until after it finds out about Renault's Formula 1 future in next week's FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting, AUTOSPORT has learned.
The Milton Keynes-based team had hoped to make a switch to Mercedes-Benz for next year, but that ambition cannot move forward because the FIA has not yet granted the German manufacturer the right to supply an extra team beyond McLaren, Brawn GP and Force India.
Furthermore, Mercedes-Benz cannot increase its supply of power units without approval from partner McLaren - something that has not yet been forthcoming amid the fallout from the plans for Mercedes to buy into Brawn GP.
Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug said at last weekend's Italian Grand Prix that its engine plans were now resting on approval from McLaren and the FIA, having originally hope to announce the engine plans in Monza.
"McLaren and us are exclusive partners," said Haug. "Without the allowance, without the co-operation....we are not ready [to announce the plans]. Whether we will have yet another customer team, that is not decided yet. It needs to be decided with the FIA as well."
That situation has left Red Bull Racing unable to finalise its engine plans for next year. The situation is further complicated by the fact that current partner Renault may not be in F1 in 2010 if it is banned or chooses to quit in the aftermath of the Singapore GP race-fix allegations.
The uncertainty about engines is a big problem for Red Bull Racing, after its progress into world championship challengers this year shows that its ambition is now for titles. Accepting a second-rate engine deal is not on the team's agenda - which is why it has only been considering the Mercedes-Benz or Renault route.
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has said that he will not worry more about its engine situation until after next week's FIA World Motor Sport Council hearing into Renault.
"Obviously we need to wait for the scenario of the 21st," Horner told AUTOSPORT. "We have a strong relationship with Renault, who have been a very good partner of the team for the last three years, and we will wait and see how things pan out."
The imposition of an engine freeze in F1, allied to restrictive design rules, makes the packaging of different engine types much easier to sort out than in the past – as Brawn GP showed this year when it installed a Mercedes-Benz power-unit on the eve of the campaign.
The Milton Keynes-based team had hoped to make a switch to Mercedes-Benz for next year, but that ambition cannot move forward because the FIA has not yet granted the German manufacturer the right to supply an extra team beyond McLaren, Brawn GP and Force India.
Furthermore, Mercedes-Benz cannot increase its supply of power units without approval from partner McLaren - something that has not yet been forthcoming amid the fallout from the plans for Mercedes to buy into Brawn GP.
Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug said at last weekend's Italian Grand Prix that its engine plans were now resting on approval from McLaren and the FIA, having originally hope to announce the engine plans in Monza.
"McLaren and us are exclusive partners," said Haug. "Without the allowance, without the co-operation....we are not ready [to announce the plans]. Whether we will have yet another customer team, that is not decided yet. It needs to be decided with the FIA as well."
That situation has left Red Bull Racing unable to finalise its engine plans for next year. The situation is further complicated by the fact that current partner Renault may not be in F1 in 2010 if it is banned or chooses to quit in the aftermath of the Singapore GP race-fix allegations.
The uncertainty about engines is a big problem for Red Bull Racing, after its progress into world championship challengers this year shows that its ambition is now for titles. Accepting a second-rate engine deal is not on the team's agenda - which is why it has only been considering the Mercedes-Benz or Renault route.
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has said that he will not worry more about its engine situation until after next week's FIA World Motor Sport Council hearing into Renault.
"Obviously we need to wait for the scenario of the 21st," Horner told AUTOSPORT. "We have a strong relationship with Renault, who have been a very good partner of the team for the last three years, and we will wait and see how things pan out."
The imposition of an engine freeze in F1, allied to restrictive design rules, makes the packaging of different engine types much easier to sort out than in the past – as Brawn GP showed this year when it installed a Mercedes-Benz power-unit on the eve of the campaign.
Monday 14 September 2009
GP Italy: Result
13 | 09 | 09
Sebastian secured a point at Monza, finishing eighth. He moved into the points after Lewis Hamilton crashed out on the final lap. Mark's afternoon ended on lap one after a collision forced a premature end to his race.
Car 15 Sebastian Vettel, Finish Position:8th, Start Position: 9th
“I think we had a good start and a good first lap, but then I was struggling to stay with the cars in front. The biggest issue today was the first five to ten laps when I was struggling with low grip, I was sliding a lot and lost a lot of time. Overall, we didn’t have the speed and perhaps this wasn’t the best track for our car. For the next race we will put more downforce in again and maybe we’ll be better, we will see. The Championship isn’t over – our target is to do our best, we’re here to win races and the Championship, so we have to focus on that, all the rest is out of our hands.”
Car 14 Mark Webber, Finish Position: DNF, Start Position: 10th
“I had a reasonable start, I was trying to find a good line through the chicane. I had Sebastian in front, so I was pretty clean as I didn’t want to get tangled up with him. Both of us got through the first chicane, I was following Sebastian into the next, but then had a racing incident with Robert Kubica. It seems like his front wheel was inside my rear left at the second chicane, it was difficult to know he was there. We had contact which flicked the car into the air a little bit, then nosed it into the guard rail. The car was undamaged, but I couldn’t get it out and back onto the track. I couldn’t have done anything differently. It’s frustrating to retire through such a small incident, especially when all the guys have put so much effort into preparing the car. It’s not great for the Drivers’ Championship, but this is my first DNF of the year. We will bounce back from this and do what we can in the final races.”
Christian Horner, Team Principal: “A disappointing start to the race when Mark was tipped out by one of the BMWs and Sebastian lost quite a bit of time in the first stint behind Kubica, who then had a damaged front wing. Thereafter we were lucky to pick up one point following Hamilton’s accident. Unfortunately we just weren’t quick enough today – it’s been our worst performance of the year at a track which has exposed some of our weaknesses. Hopefully the remaining circuits will come back more in our favour.”
Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer Track Support: “What a disappointing result. To get only one point and have a retirement is very bad for us. Brawn scored a one-two finish, so congratulations to them – but our result is hard to swallow. It’s going to be very difficult in both titles for us, but we won’t give up – we still have four races in which we can fight.”
Sebastian secured a point at Monza, finishing eighth. He moved into the points after Lewis Hamilton crashed out on the final lap. Mark's afternoon ended on lap one after a collision forced a premature end to his race.
Car 15 Sebastian Vettel, Finish Position:8th, Start Position: 9th
“I think we had a good start and a good first lap, but then I was struggling to stay with the cars in front. The biggest issue today was the first five to ten laps when I was struggling with low grip, I was sliding a lot and lost a lot of time. Overall, we didn’t have the speed and perhaps this wasn’t the best track for our car. For the next race we will put more downforce in again and maybe we’ll be better, we will see. The Championship isn’t over – our target is to do our best, we’re here to win races and the Championship, so we have to focus on that, all the rest is out of our hands.”
Car 14 Mark Webber, Finish Position: DNF, Start Position: 10th
“I had a reasonable start, I was trying to find a good line through the chicane. I had Sebastian in front, so I was pretty clean as I didn’t want to get tangled up with him. Both of us got through the first chicane, I was following Sebastian into the next, but then had a racing incident with Robert Kubica. It seems like his front wheel was inside my rear left at the second chicane, it was difficult to know he was there. We had contact which flicked the car into the air a little bit, then nosed it into the guard rail. The car was undamaged, but I couldn’t get it out and back onto the track. I couldn’t have done anything differently. It’s frustrating to retire through such a small incident, especially when all the guys have put so much effort into preparing the car. It’s not great for the Drivers’ Championship, but this is my first DNF of the year. We will bounce back from this and do what we can in the final races.”
Christian Horner, Team Principal: “A disappointing start to the race when Mark was tipped out by one of the BMWs and Sebastian lost quite a bit of time in the first stint behind Kubica, who then had a damaged front wing. Thereafter we were lucky to pick up one point following Hamilton’s accident. Unfortunately we just weren’t quick enough today – it’s been our worst performance of the year at a track which has exposed some of our weaknesses. Hopefully the remaining circuits will come back more in our favour.”
Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer Track Support: “What a disappointing result. To get only one point and have a retirement is very bad for us. Brawn scored a one-two finish, so congratulations to them – but our result is hard to swallow. It’s going to be very difficult in both titles for us, but we won’t give up – we still have four races in which we can fight.”
Monday 7 September 2009
Thursday 3 September 2009
Christian Horner asseses 2010
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner believes any one of Jenson Button’s three title rivals can still overturn the Briton’s season-long points advantage in the final five races of the season.
Despite claiming just 11 points in the previous five rounds, Brawn driver Button retains a 16-point lead at the head of the drivers’ standings ahead of team-mate Rubens Barrichello, with RBR duo Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber a further three and four and a half points back respectively.
But asked if he thought Button remained the clear favourite given he had the points on the board, Horner said: “His form obviously has been not great in the last few races so I’d say it is all open.
“You have four guys there who are going to have an interesting run-in to the end of the series.
“Both our guys are still in the hunt and Rubens obviously over the last few weekends has taken 10 points out of Jenson so he is going to be feeling pretty optimistic as well.
“So it is a four-horse battle.”
Having slashed Brawn’s once huge constructors’ points lead to just 15.5 heading into the Valencia/Belgium double-header, Red Bull left Spa 23.5 points adrift largely as a result of having failed to score any points at the previous weekend’s race.
Horner though feels his team have been the stronger overall package in recent months, giving him optimism about its chances heading into the decisive phase of the season.
“They [Brawn] have not been having a good run,” he said.
“Obviously they had the win in Valencia, but certainly Jenson since Turkey I don’t think we have seen him on the podium.
“We have done a bit of damage early on at Silverstone and in Germany, a podium in Hungary, a podium here [Spa] with alternating drivers which therefore again endorsees [our policy that] it would be wrong to back one driver at the moment.
“There is still a long way in the championship to go and the points are concertinaing and I think we’ll get an exciting finish to the series.”
Heading to high-speed Monza next week, however, Horner concedes the team will have to run its RB5 with lower downforce levels than some of its rivals to compensate for a relative straight-line speed deficit, the team having been less competitive in the fast sectors one and three at Spa.
Nevertheless with Monza also containing some fast, sweeping corners, the RBR team principal still expects his squad to still have the speed to challenge its title rival.
“Monza historically is a power track and I think the guys with the KERS are obviously going to be pretty strong there,” Horner said.
“So we will probably have to run a little bit less downforce but there are still some quick corners there and I still think we can take on the Brawns there.”
Despite claiming just 11 points in the previous five rounds, Brawn driver Button retains a 16-point lead at the head of the drivers’ standings ahead of team-mate Rubens Barrichello, with RBR duo Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber a further three and four and a half points back respectively.
But asked if he thought Button remained the clear favourite given he had the points on the board, Horner said: “His form obviously has been not great in the last few races so I’d say it is all open.
“You have four guys there who are going to have an interesting run-in to the end of the series.
“Both our guys are still in the hunt and Rubens obviously over the last few weekends has taken 10 points out of Jenson so he is going to be feeling pretty optimistic as well.
“So it is a four-horse battle.”
Having slashed Brawn’s once huge constructors’ points lead to just 15.5 heading into the Valencia/Belgium double-header, Red Bull left Spa 23.5 points adrift largely as a result of having failed to score any points at the previous weekend’s race.
Horner though feels his team have been the stronger overall package in recent months, giving him optimism about its chances heading into the decisive phase of the season.
“They [Brawn] have not been having a good run,” he said.
“Obviously they had the win in Valencia, but certainly Jenson since Turkey I don’t think we have seen him on the podium.
“We have done a bit of damage early on at Silverstone and in Germany, a podium in Hungary, a podium here [Spa] with alternating drivers which therefore again endorsees [our policy that] it would be wrong to back one driver at the moment.
“There is still a long way in the championship to go and the points are concertinaing and I think we’ll get an exciting finish to the series.”
Heading to high-speed Monza next week, however, Horner concedes the team will have to run its RB5 with lower downforce levels than some of its rivals to compensate for a relative straight-line speed deficit, the team having been less competitive in the fast sectors one and three at Spa.
Nevertheless with Monza also containing some fast, sweeping corners, the RBR team principal still expects his squad to still have the speed to challenge its title rival.
“Monza historically is a power track and I think the guys with the KERS are obviously going to be pretty strong there,” Horner said.
“So we will probably have to run a little bit less downforce but there are still some quick corners there and I still think we can take on the Brawns there.”
Tuesday 1 September 2009
Red Bull at spa
Realistically, it became clear after Qualifying that third was going to be the most likely best finish for a Red Bull Racing car in the Belgian Grand Prix.
However, the manner in which we achieved that, courtesy of Sebastian Vettel didn’t actually follow the expected script. A second corner bingle on the opening lap played into our hands by wiping out Jenson Button, along with Lewis Hamilton, Jaime Alguersuari and Romain Grosjean, the Renault driver tangling with the championship leader.
In the ensuing chaos and Safety Car period, it was Mark Webber who was our best placed car, running fifth, with Sebastian in his grid position, eighth. With some of the fancied runners out of the way, it was looking good for a big points haul, but unfortunately, Mark got hit with a drive-through penalty after he came very close to colliding with Nick Heidfeld, as both men left pit lane together after refuelling.
Sebastian had one of the heaviest fuel loads of those who were two-stopping and this allowed him to slot in third behind Raikkonen, who had charged through from sixth on the grid to lie second on the opening lap behind unexpected pole man, Giancarlo Fisichella, before dispensing with the Force India once the Safety Car came in.
“A Force India?” we hear you cry in disbelief. Yes indeed, because after getting over the shock of seeing the Italian driver on pole, the so called experts reckoned he would have a tough time staying at the pointy end of the field.
Far from it, he ran like a train, pushing the Ferrari throughout the 44 laps. Maybe rumours that he will replace Massa-replacement Luca Badoer in Monza in a fortnight’s time might actually come true. This would lead to former Toro Rosso driver, Tonio Liuzzi slipping into the empty Force India cockpit. With Ferrari back on form after this first win of the season, it could be a very Italian Italian Grand Prix indeed.
Behind the top three, it was a good day for BMW, with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld coming home fourth and fifth ahead of Kovalainen’s McLaren. The last two points positions were filled by the Brawn of Rubens Barrichello and the Williams of Nico Rosberg.
With only five races to go, the championship situation leaves Brawn and Red Bull Racing supporters with hardly any fingernails left to chew on. We’ve taken four points out of the leaders in the Constructors, Barrichello has closed up to Button, as has Sebastian, who leapfrogs his team-mate to lie third once again.
Now it’s the slipstreaming, eye-popping, super-fast fest that is Monza, the Temple of Speed, Da da daaaaa!
However, the manner in which we achieved that, courtesy of Sebastian Vettel didn’t actually follow the expected script. A second corner bingle on the opening lap played into our hands by wiping out Jenson Button, along with Lewis Hamilton, Jaime Alguersuari and Romain Grosjean, the Renault driver tangling with the championship leader.
In the ensuing chaos and Safety Car period, it was Mark Webber who was our best placed car, running fifth, with Sebastian in his grid position, eighth. With some of the fancied runners out of the way, it was looking good for a big points haul, but unfortunately, Mark got hit with a drive-through penalty after he came very close to colliding with Nick Heidfeld, as both men left pit lane together after refuelling.
Sebastian had one of the heaviest fuel loads of those who were two-stopping and this allowed him to slot in third behind Raikkonen, who had charged through from sixth on the grid to lie second on the opening lap behind unexpected pole man, Giancarlo Fisichella, before dispensing with the Force India once the Safety Car came in.
“A Force India?” we hear you cry in disbelief. Yes indeed, because after getting over the shock of seeing the Italian driver on pole, the so called experts reckoned he would have a tough time staying at the pointy end of the field.
Far from it, he ran like a train, pushing the Ferrari throughout the 44 laps. Maybe rumours that he will replace Massa-replacement Luca Badoer in Monza in a fortnight’s time might actually come true. This would lead to former Toro Rosso driver, Tonio Liuzzi slipping into the empty Force India cockpit. With Ferrari back on form after this first win of the season, it could be a very Italian Italian Grand Prix indeed.
Behind the top three, it was a good day for BMW, with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld coming home fourth and fifth ahead of Kovalainen’s McLaren. The last two points positions were filled by the Brawn of Rubens Barrichello and the Williams of Nico Rosberg.
With only five races to go, the championship situation leaves Brawn and Red Bull Racing supporters with hardly any fingernails left to chew on. We’ve taken four points out of the leaders in the Constructors, Barrichello has closed up to Button, as has Sebastian, who leapfrogs his team-mate to lie third once again.
Now it’s the slipstreaming, eye-popping, super-fast fest that is Monza, the Temple of Speed, Da da daaaaa!
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