Red Bull Racing 

Red Bull Racing F1 team 

The Red Bull Racing F1 team is one of two Formula 1 teams owned by Red Bull GmbH. The other team is Racing Bulls. Red Bull Racing currently races under an Austrian racing license but is based in Milton Keynes, England. Christian Horner is Red Bull Racing team principal with Helmut Marko as a close advisor to the team. 

Red Bull Racing joined Formula 1 in 2005 when the previous team, Jaguar Racing, was no longer able to continue due to financial reasons. This allowed team founder Dietrich Mateschitz to take over the previous team to have his own team instead of continuing to sponsor the Kick Sauber F1 team. It was not until 2009 that Red Bull Racing was able to start its upward trajectory into World Championships. With the combined power of Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, and driver Sebastian Vettel, the team was able to win four back-to-back championships. 

Four in a row

While Vettel narrowly missed out on the title in 2009 (Jenson Button won by just eleven points from Vettel), 2010 was a dominant period for Red Bull. The Austrian team continued their upward rise. Among other things, through the innovative use of exhaust gases, Red Bull managed to gain a significant aerodynamic advantage. The result was consecutive titles in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 for Vettel and Red Bull. 

Engine transition

After a highly successful period, Formula 1 introduced new rules around the combustion engine in the 2014 season. There was no longer a 2.4-litre V8 in the back of the cars, instead the teams used a hybrid V6. Red Bull remained loyal to engine manufacturer Renault and in the first season the team simply could not keep up with Mercedes. Mercedes won that season by a large margin: in just three races the team remained without a win. As Red Bull's dominant period came to an end, Vettel decided to move to Ferrari. The Italians were trailing Red Bull at the time, but that soon changed. With newcomers Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull fell to fourth place behind Williams, Ferrari and Mercedes. After the team said goodbye to Kvyat, results began to improve again.

What engine does Red Bull use?

Red Bull Powertrains has been the team's supplier for three years now. With the help of Honda, which supplied the engines until 2021, Red Bull equips its cars with an engine that brings success to its drivers. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, preparations are underway for 2026, when another major change is planned. With the new regulations, Ford will replace Honda as well as Red Bull Powertrains.

Verstappen's era

Until the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen drove for Red Bull's sister team, Scuderia Toro Rosso. After Daniil Kvyat finished third in China, the team decided to swap the Russian for the Dutchman, who was considered an up-and-coming young talent. At the 2016 Barcelona GP, Jos Verstappen's son was behind the wheel of the RB12 for the first time and knew that all eyes were on him. However, the race couldn't have started better for him. Hamilton and Nico Rosberg crashed each other off the track on the first lap of the race, after which Verstappen took the lead. Verstappen didn't let up and crossed the finish line first. Kvyat, who was pushed back from Red Bull to Toro Rosso, finished 15th. With Verstappen at the wheel, Red Bull began its return to the top, with a win here and there and plenty of podium finishes.

However, Ricciardo left Red Bull in 2018 and declared that he would drive for Renault the following season. That meant the end of the collaboration between the team and the driver, leaving the Austrians to look for a replacement. Things remained quiet for a long time, but eventually Pierre Gasly seemed the logical replacement. After a series of disappointing results, he was replaced by Alexander Albon who also failed to impress. 

After this, Sergio Perez was given a chance at Red Bull last season, after which he was told he could keep his place until 2022. The 2023 season was even more incredible: Red Bull won 21 of the 22 races available, of course winning the Constructors' Championship with a record 860 points and breaking one record after another, while Verstappen did the same in the Drivers' Championship, winning his third consecutive title. Concerns about the penalty imposed at the end of last season for not respecting the budget cap were immediately put to rest, and indeed Red Bull achieved a one-two in the Drivers' Championship for the first time in its history.

Red Bull in 2024

For Red Bull, 2024 was not the year of dominance that everyone expected. In May 2024, it was announced that Adrian Newey would be leaving the team. After this, the RB20 continued on a downward spiral that made it harder on the drivers. The team lost out to McLaren and Ferrari in the constructors' battle. At the end of the season, Red Bull decided to replace Sergio Perez with Liam Lawson due to Perez’s performance. 

Red Bull in 2025

Red Bull Racing started its 2025 season with Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson, but decided to switch Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda after two races. Lawson was demoted back to Racing Bulls, while Yuki Tsunoda got the Red Bull Racing seat from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards.

This is the last year Red Bull Racing will use Honda engines.