General Features
Red Bull Racing's Latest Shocker
By by: Anooj Shah
Nov 16, 2005, 13:04

Ever since Red Bull Racing entered the F1 arena in 2005 they have been turning heads with their on-track performance and off-track antics. David Coulthard's impressive 4th place finish in the season opener impressed many. He followed up with a 6th place in Malaysia to show it wasn't a fluke. Clearly the team had taken a turn for the better as compared to their previous incarnation under the Jaguar banner.

Off the track however, Red Bull Racing was known to throw extravagant parties and PR stunts, the most memorable being their Star Wars themed weekend during the Monaco GP. During the mid season, their performance suffered as the competition upped their game and left Red Bull out of the points paying position. Many critics questioned Red Bull's motivation in the F1 arena, wondering if they were in it only for the marketing and not for the wins. After all, all the money spent on their off-track entertainment could have gone towards R&D to keep the car competitive as the season progressed.

The critics got their comeuppance this past week with the signing of one of the most profilic and successful F1 designer/engineer, Adrian Newey, to Red Bull Racing. This coup pulled by Christian Horner surprised many, as Adrian Newey is highly regarded in F1 circles, having designed Championship winning cars for both Williams and McLaren. It has been said that the past 13 Championships have been won either by Newey or Schumi. That should provide a better barometer of Newey's worth in F1.

Some could argue that having Newey on the team would be more beneficial than 7-time Champion Schumacher as he has a shorter shelf life than Newey. Christian Horner certainly thinks so as he stated Newey was worth more to a team than Schumi.

The question that lingers in the minds of many however is how did Red Bull Racing, a team with a customer engine deal from Ferrari and no manufacturer backing lure Adrian Newey into their fold? Newey's contract was running up this year with McLaren and it was common knowledge that he intended to quit the F1 business to focus on designing sail boats, his passion. This made his move to Red Bull Racing even more surprising.

It could be the difficult challenge of turning a mid-tier team into a Championship contender that attracted Newey, it could be the financial benefits, or it could be the drivers. An interesting fact is that Newey has followed David Coulthard around from Williams to McLaren, and now to Red Bull Racing. He stated in a recent article that seeing a rejuvenated DC had been a factor in the move. He saw how the team changed DC, and wanted to experience that little magic for himself.

But surely there must be more to it than that? Did Newey have an inside look into RedBull's future plans? As far as we know, they don't have a works deal for the future which would seriously limit their push to be contenders. Maybe Newey's signing gives some foreshadowing into Red Bull Racing's future? Newey could just be one piece of a grandiose plan to turn the team into a Championship winning team.

It will be interesting to see how Red Bull Racing stands in the upcoming seasons. The entire paddock has their eyes on them, wondering what lurks beneath this fun-loving and party-going young team. After all, one doesn't shell out big bucks for Adrian Newey if they aren't serious about winning.

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