Formula One: Red Bull concerned about the Belgian and Italian Grand Prix
Christian Horner, the team boss of Red Bull seems concerned that the physics of the circuits Monza and Spa Francorchamps support the nature of their Championship rivals McLaren. Red Bull’s RB6 engine proved to be in a league of its own as compared to the rest of the cars on medium to high down force circuits, due to its blown diffuser and flexible front wing. The extra horsepower of the Mercedes engine and McLaren’s own creation the F-duct will give McLaren an edge in Belgium and Italy.
Red Bull got the lead back after a mind-blowing performance at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Red Bull became a part of Formula One in 2005 with David Coulthard, Christian Klien, Vinantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed on their side. The team finished in 7th place with 34 points. This was a very good debut performance by Red Bull, as the team was using a Cosworth engine. The team then shifted to the Ferrari engine before using the Renault engine the next year. Red Bull started to make an impact in the year 2009, when they came 2nd in the Constructors Championship with 153.5 points with their current drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. This is turning out to be a very promising season, as the team is leading the Constructors’ standings with 312 points with just 8 points clear of McLaren and Mark Webber is leading the drivers’ standings with 161 points just 4 points clear of Lewis Hamilton.
This is Mark Webber’s 9th season in the Formula One. The Australian signed with Minardi in his first season and ended up scoring just 2 points. He joined Jaguar the following year and stayed in the team for 2 years. The 33 year old could not pull off a podium or a win until he joined Williams in 2005 and scored a podium that very year. After leaving Williams, Mark joined Red Bull is with the team to date. Webber was not able to make an impact until 2009, when he scored 69.5 points to get the 4th position in the drivers’ standings with the help of 2 wins, 8 podiums and 1 pole position. This season has been the best for the Australian so far and he is leading the drivers’ standings and scored 4 wins, 6 podiums and 5 pole positions in 12 races.
His current teammate Sebastian Vettel made his debut in 2007 with BMW, Sauber, Toro Rosso. The German was able to score 6 points securing the 14th position for him that season. However, Vettel started making an impact the following year when he was able to score his first win and score 35 points. The young driver joined Red Bull the next year and scored 4 wins, 8 podiums and 4 pole positions to secure 2nd place in the drivers’ standings with 84 points just 11 points short of Jenson Button. Sebastian has made his name in a short span of time and is currently in 3rd place with 151 points. The German scored 7 wins, 15 podium positions and 12 pole positions in just 55 races.
The team is looking very strong this year. Christian Horner expects the drivers will have to make up time in the second sector, as they will not be able to match the McLaren in the First and Last Sectors of the Circuit in Belgium. Mark Webber consents his boss’ statement that Monza will be the biggest challenge for the team this season. Red Bull suffers on the long straights, as the car does not match McLarens straight-line speed. The Australian is worried about the long straights in some other venues, as the team is constantly struggling in that area. The team hopes to score as many points as they can in the next race and are working on the straight-line speed of the car to match their rivals McLaren, as the Championship still is uncertain.
Tags: