Category: Red Bull Racing

Here’s a fun video from Red Bull Racing where Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel are given the challenge of applying the sponsor and livery stickers to their RB9. As it turns out they didn’t do a very good job.

Red Bull Racing has started the F1 festivities in Melbourne this week by rocking up to Fed Square and belting out Advance Australia Fair on their showcar.

[Thanks to Wes for the tip]

On a wet, windy and generally horrible day of Formula 1 pre-season testing in Barcelona Mark Webber set the fastest lap in his Red Bull RB9 with just minutes left on the clock.

Webber’s best time of 1:22.693 was set on soft compound tyres after conditions improved enough to allow the use of slick tyres. Highlighting the mixed nature of the day’s testing, Webber was 1.6 seconds quicker than Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes AMG, 1:24.348). Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso, 1:25.017) was third quickest.

Despite the late afternoon dry running, times were still well off the 1:21.848 benchmark set by Sergio Perez (McLaren) on Day 2 of the first round of pre-season testing in Barcelona a bit over a week ago.

Afterwards Mark lamented he wasn’t able to do more during the day. “We only got one hour at the end of the day in more stable conditions. We opted to put on a couple of sets of tyres at the end and see how it went and it was OK. We’ve still got more to come, but that was the most we could get done in a short limited programme in dry conditions at the end of the day.”

[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

Following Helmut Marko’s controversial comments earlier this year saying that Mark Webber can’t handle pressure, Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has assured Webber he’ll be treated equally.

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Mateschitz was asked if Webber would be given a fair shake of the sauce bottle and he replied, “I absolutely believe that and I’m certain that it will be so.”

The billionaire added, “Mark is at the same time a strong and charismatic character and an exceptional racing driver. It’s a fact that competition begins inside your own team. That means that the environment is tough but friendly, and that’s how it’s supposed to be.”

We suspect this will be Webber’s last year in F1 and if Mateschitz is true to his word, we hope Mark can leave the sport on a high.

[Source: Autosport | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

We bring you another new versus old F1 comparison for you, this time it’s the 2013 RB9 shown alongside the dual championship winning RB8.

The only catch is Red Bull doesn’t really provide too many suitable images for side by side comparisons. The top image is quite good, even though the differences are virtually impossible to spot, paint scheme aside. However, the two images after the break aren’t from the same angle, so your mileage may vary on whether you get anything meaningful from those.

While Adrian Newey is renowned for being a wily old fox when it comes to interpreting F1 regulations, he’s trying to fool us that not a lot has really changed this year. “It was difficult trying to continue development of last year’s car while also doing research into the RB9.” Newey said. Obviously it worked for us, but it gave us a very tight timeframe to design and manufacture this car.

“RB9 is an evolutionary car,” he added. “Probably the most significant change is not the regulations, but the new Pirelli tyres. We had a quick test with those in practice ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix but in truth we didn’t learn a lot because of the conditions. Pirelli have supplied us data about how the new tyres behave but past experience tells us that it’s only when we go testing that we really find out.”

As always, the proof will be in the pudding, which we shall taste during pre-season testing later this week.

Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing’s motorsport advisor, has taken the unusual step of heaping more pressure on Mark Webber by saying the likeable Aussie can’t handle pressure. More unusually, Marko’s comments were published in Red Bull’s in-house title The Red Bulletin.

“It seems to me that Webber has on average two races per year where he is unbeatable, but he can’t maintain this form throughout the year,” said Marko.

“And as soon as his prospects start to look good in the world championship, he has a little trouble with the pressure that this creates.

“In comparison with Seb [Vettel’s] rising form, it seems to me that Mark’s form somehow flattens out.”

Webber’s disastrous race at Abu Dhabi in 2010, which, in part, handed the world championship to teammate Sebastian Vettel, also remains strong in Marko’s memory.

“In 2010, it was particularly extreme. Webber headed into the final race with better chances than Vettel, and he probably carried the disappointment of his defeat into the 2011 season, which is so easy to understand,” he added.

Marko also claims Webber has struggled to cope with the stellar form and results of his younger teammate.

“Something that I think is also very important is that for much of his career, Mark was never in a top team, but he was always regarded as a high flyer if he only could get into the right team,” said Marko.

“Then Red Bull puts him in a car—a possible winner—and suddenly along comes this young kid and he snatches the booty from under Mark’s nose.

“Psychologically it’s not easy, of course; this would gnaw away at anyone’s confidence. It’s more than understandable.”

[Source: Autosport | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

Mark Webber is already mentally preparing himself for the 2013 F1 season, dismissing retirement talk and declaring he’s ready to fight for the title.

“I’m not at the start of the career, I know that. I’m more towards the back end of my career,” said the likeable 36-year-old.

“My goal is to put together a campaign. I have fought for championships and I’ve had some good and very special memories over the past few years.

“Your peak is all relative. You’ve got to piece it all together.

“And you’ve got to be honest with yourself and say ‘look mate, it’s the right time now’—and I don’t think it is the right time now.”

Of course, there’s a guy called Sebastian Vettel on the other side of the garage. Despite a less than flattering record against the German wunderkind Webber is not being deterred.

“If I got spanked 20-nil in qualifying then yeah it’s obvious, the alarm bells are ringing,” Mark added.

“Until that point comes where you feel that you’re not getting the most out of yourself, and you’re sliding, then you need to keep pressing on.”

Mark will keep pressing on with Red Bull next year, it will be his seventh season with the three-time world champion constructor.

[Source: The F1 Times | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]