F1 News
Bonuses for Red Bull staff: 'That's not even the most motivating'
Red Bull Racing have already secured the 2023 constructors' championship and Max Verstappen the drivers' title. Red Bull mechanic Calum Nicholas is a guest on Sky Sports a week after sealing Verstappen's third title and says the team still owes the party that had to be celebrated in Qatar. Although there has been no celebration yet, the bonuses are already known to the staff.
Red Bull had no time to 'really' party yet
The GP weekend in Qatar was extreme. As it turns out, it was not just the drivers who had a particularly tough time on track, but also the teams' staff who were forced to make it a night's work. At Red Bull, there was not even decent time to celebrate the third title that Verstappen already secured on the Saturday after the sprint race. So says the Red Bull mechanic when asked on Sky Sports' F1 Podcast how the party was.
Nicholas: "It was a little bit muted last week, just because of the way the schedule for the race weekend, obviously. Saturday night, we had a bit of work on car we had to repair. So it was probably that quite late and then Sunday just because of the nature of it, was it an 8pm start local time. And then by the time it's done and then we have to pack up all the garage, all the air freight strip, all the cars to all that stuff. Do I don't think we left the garage until 4am. Then we literally had an hour or two hours in the hotel before we left for the airport. That's just had to be like a bit of rain check on the one [the celebration]."
The Red Bull mechanics had no time to sleep, let alone time to celebrate. The example is cited as proof of how hard work is done in Formula 1. Nicholas is sure the party will come later this year: "As an employer, we are lucky that Red Bull know how to celebrate, at some point, we will have it. I'm sure they have got things planned for the factory as well. It's not just at the circuit, I'm sure everyone gets an opportunity."
Bonus for constructors' title is in
What has already been promised, however, are bonuses for Red Bull staff after winning titles. Nicholas gives a small insight into the bonus structure at the dominant championship team: "We get a bonus from the constructors' championship. Then there are various little bonus schemes for like race victories and things like that. It's nice. It's obviously nice to get, no one saying it's not nice. "
To clarify, the presenter asks if everyone in the team gets a bonus. Nicholas: "I don't think it motivates you anymore purely because you are motivated to win. I've always said that, you know people who work in the sport, they are there becaause they love racing."