Tag Archives: Red Bull

June 8, 2014 · 11:51 pm

Daniel Ricciardo: “The race came to life at the end…”

Daniel Ricciardo scored a hugely popular maiden GP victory in Canada, and while it took a little bad luck for Mercedes to make it happen, the Aussie had to be there to take advantage.

Crucially he got ahead of team mate Sebastian Vettel at the final stops, and then passed Sergio Perez with five laps to go. Two laps after that he was able to blast past the Mercedes of a struggling Nico Rosberg to claim the lead.

“It’s not that we were leading the whole race,” said Ricciardo. “So it’s not that I had time to understand that I was going to win, it all happened in the last few laps, so I think that’s why it’s still taking a while to comprehend in my head. But really nice, a really good feeling. The race came to life at the end. Mercedes had their issues and it enable us to close on them. We had a good fight with Perez and we were really struggling to pass them.

“They had, as we know, a really strong car down the straight and it was doing a good job through the corners as well to keep me behind. But then out of the last chicane I got a really good run on him and made the move stick in turns one and two. I was close to overshooting it, dropped a couple of wheels in the grass but it was fine and then Nico in the closing stages. Really, really nice. I wasn’t sure if the two drivers on the last lap were OK, so I just wanted to make sure they were cool before we got celebrating, but I believe they’re fine so really, really happy with the result.”

Ricciardo said he’d worked hard to find a way past Perez.

“To be honest I was trying the whole time I was behind him. I was looking for opportunities and, as I said, he was driving well and wasn’t making any mistakes and realistically I needed a bit of a mistake from him because they were just getting off the corner so well. But then I think, yeah, he got quite close to Nico and perhaps just overshot the braking a little bit in the last chicane. I managed to just stay with him on the exit, get the tow and use the DRS.

“I knew we were strong braking into Turn One, we were really quick into there so, yeah, once I had the outside line free I just basically went in and made it work. Yeah, that was the place I wanted to do it – but as I said, I was trying all the time and it was just then that the opportunity came – but I wasn’t really holding back!”

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May 27, 2014 · 11:55 am

Christian Horner: “We are now where we should have been in January…”

Christian Horner says that Red Bull is making progress in its pursuit of Mercedes – but says much still depends on what Renault can do.

At a track where the emphasis switched from the power unit to the chassis Daniel Ricciardo finished a strong third in Monaco, although Sebastian Vettel suffered a disappointing turbo failure.

“Daniel was amazing, considering where he was after the first lap,” Horner said when asked by this writer. “We got a little bit lucky with the puncture for Raikkonen. But his pace was very good. He looked after the tyres well and pushed hard at the end of the race. He was certainly than Lewis, but no chance to overtake. It was certainly the closest we’ve been. So we’re getting there. It’s the first time this year we’ve been racing a Mercedes, so it’s definitely a step in the right direction.”

Horner remains confident that Red Bull can continue to close on its main rivals.

“We’re clearly the second quickest team at the moment, and we’re nibbling into that gap of Mercedes. It’s nothing short of commitment and hard work and clever design that’s going to close that gap.

“We’re very much in Renault’s hands. We are making progress, they’re making progress, Total on the fuel side have been making progress. But really we are now where we should have been in January. And Mercedes obviously aren’t standing still. But we’re only at race six, there’s still a long way to go in this championship.”

Horner admits that the next race in Canada could be more difficult, due to the extra focus on the power unit.

“Montreal is going to be a challenging race for us, and it will be interesting to see how we fair there. Obviously Renault are working hard behind the scenes. We were much, much closer [in Monaco], it’s the first time we’ve raced Mercedes this year. Dan’s pace, particularly in the last third of the race, he was the quickest car on the track.

“So I think we take a lot of confidence out of that. But you’re going from one extreme to the other. Here’s all about handling characteristics, the next event will be predominantly straightline performance. It’s going to be very interesting to see how we fare against the Mercedes powered teams in Montreal.”

Regarding Vettel’s Monaco disappointment he said: “Obviously this weekend was pretty tough on him. He’s smart enough to recognise that, so of course, like any sportsman he’s going to be frustrated when things go wrong. There will be time to take a breath and reflect. He’ll just keep working away at it, it’s the nature of who he is that he never gives up, he’ll keep his head down and keep working harder and harder.”

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May 10, 2014 · 2:08 pm

Sebastian Vettel: “We’ve had all sorts of problems…”

Sebastian Vettel will start the Spanish GP from 10th place after suffering a gearbox problem at the start of Q3.

Should the team decide that the gearbox needs to be changed for the race he could yet drop a further five places.

“I’m quite disappointed today,” said Vettel. “I didn’t get much time at all this weekend in the car. Obviously a gearbox issue stopped us running in Q3.

“I left the garage and I lost drive in second gear. Obviously it was clear there was a problem, but I still had third gear, so I thought OK I’ll manage the lap without second gear. Unfortunately then by Turn One I lost all the other gears.

“There’s not much I can do. Of course it’s a bit disappointing, and by now a bit boring. We’ve had all sorts of problems. We still managed to get into Q3, so we’re 10th I guess. Still anything can happen tomorrow, hopefully there’s no damage to the gearbox.”

Vettel said his lack of running on Friday was expensive: “I think I needed more and more laps, I was getting more and more in the rhythm. Obviously I missed yesterday. I thought it would be worth shooting for P3, I think that’s what we have in the car, but we never got that far.

“Tricky conditions today, I think everybody is running out of tyres towards the end of the lap. You’re never 100% happy. We had a good shot, probably, to what the car could do today. P3 was probably our maximum.”

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May 6, 2014 · 3:57 pm

Ricciardo has surprised us, says Helmut Marko

Red Bull motor sport boss Dr Helmut Marko admits that he’s been surprised by the impressive form of Daniel Ricciardo thus far in 2014.

Marko says he hadn’t expected the Australia to adapt so well to life at RBR.

“We’re really happy and satisfied with what he’s delivering,” Marko told this writer. “He has to learn a few things – mainly the pit stops he’s always losing out, he’s coming in either too slow, or braking twice. But I’m sure that will be solved.

“To be honest he’s surprising us. We knew he was quick, but being quick and using less tyres [than Vettel], and always being there, it doesn’t matter what pressure.

“And he’s unlucky. In Bahrain one more lap he would have been on the podium, in China two more laps he would have been on the podium. But he’s always in a good mood and smiling.”

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March 31, 2014 · 2:48 am

Red Bull relying on Renault finding speed, says Horner

Christian Horner says Red Bull has exceeded expectations in the first two races given the problems experienced in testing.

Horner says that the gap to Mercedes largely reflects a disparity in straightline performance, but remains confident that the French manufacturer can make progress.

“It’s a big gap, they’ve obviously got plenty up their sleeve at the moment,” he said. “And I think we’ve done incredibly well to get as close to them as we did this weekend. Their advantage is clear, it’s in a straight line, and we’re working hard with the guys from Viry.

“Considering where we’re at with the engine to be doing what we’re doing is beyond expectation. Renault know there’s a lot more to come once they sort out driveability issues and so on. Hopefully our curve in terms of catching up on straightline speed, whilst it’s steep, we should hopefully be able to make steps.”

Horner said Renault can move forward despite the homologation of the mechanical elements of the engine, as there is still a lot to come from software.

“Yes, I think they can, because a lot of their issues are software related. Hopefully the steps can be made, and we can close that gap down. But it’s not just Renault, you saw Alonso today against Hulkenberg – Alonso on a new set of tyres, DRS fully open, couldn’t pass Hulkenberg on a scrubbed set of tyres. It’s not just Renault. Mercedes, hats off to them, have done a very good job over the winter with this new engine, with this new technology. We’ve got to work very hard to catch them.

“It’s a matter of getting all three elements working in harmony, there’s obviously the combustion engine, the turbo, and the energy recovery system, which affects your braking as much as it does your acceleration and power delivery.”

As for the next race he said: “I don’t think we’re going to have a solution overnight. It doesn’t tend to rain in Bahrain much either. We’re going to obviously try to make as much progress as we can in the week. The dynos are busy running in Paris. And hopefully we nudge a bit closer to them again if it all possible next weekend.”

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March 27, 2014 · 10:19 am

Daniel Ricciardo: “I definitely don’t want to be a one-hit wonder…”

Daniel Ricciardo insists that he was quickly able to put the disappointment of his Australian GP exclusion behind him, despite his obvious frustration.

The RBR driver says he has focussed on the positives from a race that saw him finish a popular second on the road.

“I’ve obviously had a bit of time to get over it so I’m alright now,” he said. “but Sunday was a bit disappointing obviously, it’s not the news that you want to hear when you’re trying to celebrate. Sunday night I guess I had a bit of time to think, and Monday as well I had a few cameras in my face at the airport. They let me know about it! So I couldn’t really escape it for about 24 hours, but after that I was home. I was staying occupied and not thinking about it too much more. In any case I definitely took more positives out of the result and that weekend than that negative.

“I try and stay relaxed and laid back about it all. I did the race, I did what I felt was the best I could, and then all the controversy afterwards it was not really my fight, not my position to be involved in any more, that was for the team to take over with. I was proud with what I did, I did the job that I felt I could have and should have done. The rest was out of my control.

“I would have much preferred the result I got, a second on track and having it taken away rather than having a poor start and just running around in eighth or tenth and just having a bit of a nothing race.”

He also feels that he’s proved a point: “For me personally now I’ve proved that I can race up the front. I just have to try to continue to keep going it. I definitely don’t want to be a one-hit wonder. Whether we get the points back or not, there’s still a lot of races to go, and hopefully the points will accumulate to a good position by the end of the season. There’s still a lot going on for me, and I’ll try and keep as many points as I can this weekend – and hopefully keep them!”

Ricciardo said that the saga had gained him a lot of sympathy back home in Australia.

“I got a lot of support after it, a lot of sympathy I guess. I probably gained a few fans, actually! For let’s say an Australian fan I guess they’d waited so many years to see an Aussie on the podium, and they’d finally done it at home. It was like a massive celebration for everyone, and then someone took it off them. Obviously they weren’t happy with the outcome of course, as not many of us were. I feel the same way they do!”

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February 19, 2014 · 5:11 pm

Sebastian Vettel: “We might have the best car, I don’t know…”

Sebastian Vettel remains confident that the Red Bull RB10 will improve despite ongoing problems for his team in Bahrain today.

Vettel stopped on circuit after an issue with the rear brakes locked the rear wheels, and a minor fire ensued. The team insisted that issues had been addressed since Jerez, and that a new problem cropped up today.

“Obviously we’re not happy with where we are right now, but we’ve still got a long way ahead of us,” said Vettel. “It’s fairly difficult to judge where we are. I haven’t had much of the car yet. The first gut feel is OK, but surely we need more running to judge the car, to judge reliability, to judge general performance.

“It’s not easy to find a quick fix, but I think we understand the problems. As I said it’s not that easy to find the solution for the problems we found. We fixed the problems from [Jerez], we had a problem with temperature, which we seemed to fix, at least with the couple of laps we could do. But very often you fix one problem, and another problem pops up.

“There’s stuff to do on the Red Bull Racing side, in terms of reliability, temperatures, general around the car. And there’s stuff on the Renault side. But it’s not fair to separate those two. We are a team, and we’ve been very successful in the last years together. Now it’s obviously not the start we were hoping for, but we’ve obviously got some time, and clever people on board, which hopefully can fix the problems.”

Asked if this was a strange situation for him to have a bad car, Vettel pointed that it would be wrong to write off RBR in terms of competitiveness, because the car hasn’t yet run shown its potential.

“It’s more strange not to know how good the car is – we might have the best car, I don’t know. We can say that it’s not the most reliable right now, but that’s what testing is for. It’s zero points for everyone.

“Surely all the homework you get done in the winter testing helps you, certainly at the beginning of the season, because you don’t need to catch up. We’ve still got some days left. I think we know what is going on, but as you can see it’s not that easy to fix, otherwise we wouldn’t volunteer to do only 14 laps.”

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January 29, 2014 · 6:53 pm

Christian Horner: “It’s obvious that Renault has had a few issues…”

Red Bull boss Christian Horner remains confident that Renault will be able to address the issues that have afflicted the RB10 this week.

Sebastian Vettel has logged only 11 laps after the car suffered problems with its energy store, one of the key elements of the energy recovery system.

“I think this test was always designed to be a systems check,” Horner told this writer. “It’s obvious that Renault have had a few issues down here that they’re working hard to get on top of. I’m sure that with more dyno time, and bit more track time, they should be fine.

“Of course any track time is valuable, we’ve just got to make sure we recover it in the remaining test days.”

The car emerged late yesterday after the team had a problem of its own, before the Renault issues struck.

“It was internal within the gearbox, and it was an issue that cost us a bit of track time, but our track time was curtailed at the end of the day anyway.”

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November 25, 2013 · 9:07 pm

Horner on Webber: “You’ve got to be a bit of a tough character…”

Red Bull boss Christian Horner was delighted to see Mark Webber go out on a high with a charging drive to second place in Brazil.

In the course of it Webber passed Fernando Alonso twice, and also got by Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

“It’s fantastic for Mark to sign off his F1 career with a really strong drive,” said Horner. “I said to him before the podium are you sure you want to retire? Your move on Lewis, around the outside into Turn 5 or wherever it was, was massively impressive. It’s great for him to sign off while he’s still at the top of his game.

“Mark had to pass [Alonso] twice, once after the start, and then obviously after he has a slowish pit stop. We had a problem with the left rear gun, which dropped him just behind Fernando, and he had to pass him again. Thereafter it was a matter of managing the tyres we were on and the gap. Mark always had enough in hand.”

Horner said that Webber has made a big contribution to the team over the years.

“In the seven years that Mark has been with the team it’s been an incredible journey for him and the team. He’d got one podium to his name and a great reputation. I’d tied to sign a few years earlier than that to drive for the team I had in F3000 at the time. And so his pace was never in doubt. He’s grown since he’s been here. It’s tremendous to see the success he’s achieved, and of course he’s played such a big part in four constructors’ World Championships, the development of the car.

“Adrian and all the technical guys have all enjoyed working with him, and found his feedback invaluable, his pace, the speed that he’s had, has been extremely impressive. It’s been unlucky for him that he’s had a team mate called Sebastian Vettel. So many sportsmen go out with a bit of a whimper, he’s still at the top of his game, and he’s signed off in absolutely style.”

He also agreed that it could not have been easy to be up against a team mate who was at the top of his game.

“You’ve got to be a bit of a tough character. People underestimate, I think, how good Sebastian is. He’s a very, very fine racing driver. Of course it’s hugely difficult for any sportsman. He’s brushed himself down, he’s got himself motivated, sometimes in a manner that might be uncomfortable for the team to deal with. That’s worked for him, and he’s got the absolutely best out of himself.”

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November 18, 2013 · 12:58 am

Vettel beats Schumacher as he makes it eight in a row

Sebastian Vettel achieved yet another career landmark when he beat Michael Schumacher’s record to become the first man to win eight straight races in a season.

Alberto Ascari won nine times in a row over 1952-’53, but until today nobody has won more than seven consecutively in a single season. The achievement clearly meant a lot to the German ace.

“I think it’s one of those records that you never expect to be beaten, so it’s very difficult to find the right words,” said Vettel. “I didn’t really answer the questions the last couple of days because at the end of the day what makes me jump into the car is not a certain number. But certainly today, when you realise that you’ve done it, it makes you very proud in that moment and, yeah, I think it’s very difficult for all of us to realise what it actually means. If you look back, and if you look those names who had similar records or outstanding performances in the past, I think it’s impossible to understand.

“People look back and they talk about that time and about certain drivers and one day people might look back and talk about our time and what we’ve done as a team. I said it on the team radio, the spirit is fantastic. Everybody’s just happy to turn up, give it everything he has and I think – if there is one – that’s the secret.

“Yes, we have a phenomenal car; yes, the car has been mostly very, very reliable but I think it’s the mindset we have going in, really trying to give it everything we have, not miss a single step, wow to, after the race, not to turn around and think that there was a little bit left here, a little bit left there. Another very, very, very strong weekend. I think people tend to forget that every single weekend is a challenge on its own. It’s not eight weekends as a whole. It’s every single weekend. And to have such an incredible run, it’s very difficult to realise.”

Vettel made some interesting comments about Schumacher.

“Well, in a way I think I have the same approach as him, as probably every sportsman. I don’t think we are jumping into the car to beat certain records. At his time, he was breaking a lot of records and many of them will last forever, I think. To come even close and today to beat one of those is exceptional. I think, as a sportsman, you don’t jump into the car to break records and equally you don’t expect them to last forever.

“I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago and generally, I think he’s very happy with what he has achieved and seemed fairly relaxed. I think he’s riding a lot of horses lately so he’s quite happy to go karting with his kids and enjoying his life after Formula One. There’s a huge part of our lives if you consider that there’s a lot of years left once we retire. It’s good to enjoy those as well.”

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