From "party team" to World Champions - Decisions that helped build a serious race team

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The Red Bull show run is returning to India in Mumbai on the 12th of March! The first phase of tickets for the event sold out within hours of launch, so it's safe to say that the whole city and F1 fanbase are beyond excited to catch a glimpse of the defending world champions' 2011 car. Although it isn't the first time Red Bull have taken their Formula 1 car on the streets, this time it feels extra special with the sport's rising popularity and a much-widened fanbase.

Red Bull Racing are a unique team in Formula 1: one of the few in the history of F1 and the only current top team on the grid that does not operate as an automotive technology company outside the sport. Instead, they sell cans of energy drinks. I remember back in the good old days when the team you know today as "World Champions" was teasingly called a "Party team". Over the last 16 years of being a fan of the sport, I'm still amazed at how the team has transformed: Not by changing the "party team" narrative but by adding a causality, which allows them to party hard because they know how to win big. 

When I revisited the team's history, I picked up some key moments where a few strategic decisions made all the difference and built the team we know it to be today.

A short view back to the past… and the art of "Screw it, let's do it". 

When Dietrich Mateschitz brought Red Bull back home to Austria, he knew exactly how to position the drink: in extreme sports. Mateschitz, one of the many awe-inspired by the legacy of Jochen Rindt, entered the F1 world as a sponsor of Gerhard Berger, another fellow Austrian driver. Since their entry, the brand's presence grew more prominent as the years passed. From sponsoring drivers to becoming shareholders of the Sauber F1 team at the beginning of the 21st century, you and I would perhaps call it a day. But for Mateschitz, he wanted more than to be a sponsor and shareholder. He wanted control of the decisions and resolved that he needed his F1 team to pursue his interests in the sport.

The golden opportunity to do so fell right into Mateschitz's hands when the Jaguar Racing team went up for sale in late 2004 for a token amount of $1 (yes, one) with a commitment of $400MM over the next three years. He wasted no time divesting from Sauber to put all hands on deck to build the racing team he wanted to leave a legacy with.

Forging key partnerships

Redbull's first taste of Formula 1 was through the sponsorship of Berger in 1989. But through the driver, Mateschitz formed one of the most significant alliances in F1 history with Dr Helmut Marko. The two were close in age and grew up perhaps 70km away from each other in Austria, but most importantly, they were both "race-minded".

The pair had worked together in running Red Bull's junior team in the late 1990s. But when Mateschitz grabbed the opportunity to found a Formula 1 team, he brought on the eccentric Dr Marko to shift his focus towards the driver development program at Redbull Racing, the Formula 1 team. He was strict in his assessment and, by Sebastian Vettel's 2013 Autosport Awards impression of him, he was nearly impossible to convince. Still, he played an essential role in finding great sporting talent and growing them in a competitive sport.

Making bets

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Red Bull betting on young talent goes beyond their choice of drivers fronting their cars. It's a philosophy that both Mateschitz and Dr Marko had instilled into the team. Case in point: the current team principal, Christian Horner, was the youngest in the history of the sport, handpicked to lead the team at the age of 32 in 2005. The Brit wasn’t new to the sport, having successfully led his own race team (Arden Motorsport) in Formula 3000 to the championship for three consecutive years. But back in the day, it must’ve certainly been a bet to put him immediately in charge of a Formula 1 team.

As history tells you, Horner was perhaps the right choice for the new team - the man who kept the boat steady through the rough seas of Formula 1. In his first season, he led the team to points, slowly came the podiums, wins, and then went on to win a total of 5 constructors titles (and counting).

Perhaps the most important strategic decision of Horner’s F1 stint was finding a strong technical lead. The troika of Mateschitz, Dr Marko, and Horner knew in the early days of their formation that the team lacked technical direction. The response was "Mission DC", a move to sign the formidable David Coulthard to lure one of Formula 1's most remarkable engineering minds to Red Bull Racing: Adrian Newey.

"The bloke that can see air"

Adrian was more than just a racecar engineer for many, including Christian. He had won championships; he had tasted success. Better than I can ever put it, Christian said in a podcast that he was "the bloke that can see air". But there was "some nervousness" on Adrian's part when joining the team; he waited for David Coulthard's thumbs up to take up the offer from Horner back in 2006.

Newey laid the solid technical foundation of Red Bull Racing from then onwards. He was infamously sketching out on his drawing board, exploring loopholes to strengthen the car's behaviour, and building incredible race machines, which were not always the quickest down a speed trap but most certainly the quickest through corners of any kind. Despite being knocked off their feet once or twice after the Hybrid era of Formula 1 began, Newey's influence on aero-philosophy and car build can still be felt despite his stepping away from being involved with the team full-time.

Right place at the right time with the right driver

Image credits: SportsRush

Red Bull’s success is its people. The right team morale, the right people leading technical development, and the right driver driving for them in each of their peaks as a team. Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen are the biggest successes of the Red Bull Junior Program. Despite their differences in driving, the two drivers were cold-assassins on the race track, exceptionally technically competent, and delivered when the timing and equipment were right.

Mantra: Not JUST a racing team

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Today, Red Bull is an all-in-one package with operations ranging from running sports teams to content creation to production, organization and rights distribution. It’s an engine that will continue to run its course due to its diversification, unlike other conventional racing teams. Red Bull Racing is arguably one of their most successful wings of operation in terms of the sheer visibility the brand is getting through Formula 1. It's no wonder the racing team knows how to nail fan engagement, whether via show runs like the one happening in Mumbai or their hilarious pre-, post-, and in-season content on various socials.

The team's success that began in 2009 (and is still ongoing) has given it a different status in motorsports. They are a unique constructor: a giant marketing engine fueling a successful Formula 1 campaign with the newfound ability to pivot to a technology company with their partnership to build road cars and power trains after 18 years of operating in the sport.