F1 Team Factfile: Red Bull Racing

Embed from Getty Images

Red Bull Racing powered Max Verstappen to his maiden Formula 1 crown in 2021 and the team will hope to replicate last year’s feat once more.

Red Bull became the iconic team it is today back in 2005 when Team Principal Christian Horner formed the outfit to take over Jaguar Racing.

Based in Milton Keynes, Red Bull have four constructors titles to their name, scored between 2010 and 2013, with the dominance of Sebastian Vettel.

The team narrowly lost out to Mercedes in the 2021 constructors race by 28 points, and had their luck been on their side, they could have bought home a fifth title for the team.

Red Bull are one of many teams in F1 to adopt the young driver partnered with a more experienced driver pairing, along with the likes of Mercedes and Alfa Romeo.

Max Verstappen

Embed from Getty Images

Entering his eighth season in Formula 1 at just 24, the Dutchman is amongst the favourites to clinch the 2022 title as well as being one of the most experienced drivers on this season’s grid despite his young age.

The reigning champion has F1 pedigree in his blood as his father, Jos Verstappen, made 106 Grand Prix starts between 1994 and 2003.

Verstappen overcame all sorts of obstacles and hurdles during his 2021 campaign, before snatching the final race victory away from Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to become champion for the first time.

The Dutchman clinched 10 victories in 2021 as well as eight second-place finishes.

With 20 race victories, 60 podiums and 13 pole positions, the 24-year-old is certainly living up to the high expectations and will be at the forefront of Red Bull’s ambitions this season.

Sergio Perez

Embed from Getty Images

The Mexican came in to replace Alex Albon for 2021, after a lengthy spell with Force India which became Racing Point during his tenure with the Silverstone-based outfit.

In just his sixth race at the helm of Red Bull machinery, Perez won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after a dramatic ending which saw his teammate Verstappen retire after a tyre blowout and Hamilton’s ‘brake magic’ blunder at the restart.

The 32-year-old collected a further four podiums throughout 2021 and was a regular in the top five finishers and qualifiers.

Perez was often selfless in order to assist Verstappen in his title charge, most notably in France and holding up Hamilton to help Verstappen catch up to the Brit in the season finale.

Prediction

Red Bull will once again challenge for the constructors’ title and comfortably finish in the top three teams.

The team will clinch a number of victories and podiums throughout the season, both shared between their drivers.

Most importantly, Red Bull will hope to adapt to the new regulations quicker than they did in 2014 as they spent a number of seasons playing catch up.

Verstappen is amongst the favourites for the title and is in the challenge throughout the season. The Dutchman will comfortably finish in the top three in the drivers’ standings, however, narrowly losing out to Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

Perez, on the other hand, will finish sixth in the drivers’ standings after another good year with the Milton Keynes outfit.

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt

[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”105″ heading=”Other Sports” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”1072″ heading=”News” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[/columns]