The Formula 1 season in 2021 was remarkable. Mercedes and Red Bull got involved in a sometimes bitter and tense battle for the title. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton left nothing on the table when one won his first world title and the other his eighth, and they keep their fingers crossed that the fight will continue into the last round of the season. It is an important year for Red Bull as it will be the first time since 2013 that the team has been fighting for the title.
Things were very different then. The team had Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber at the wheel of their cars, and the sport drove much thinner cars, smaller tires, and V8s. Now, of course, Verstappen is paired with Sergio Perez and Honda hybrids that power today’s Formula 1 cars. Red Bull had the sport under control from 2010 to 2013, winning all driver and constructor titles in that time only stopped by the advent of the hybrid era in the sport, which gave Mercedes its current overview of F1. The big question, however, is how did Red Bull dominate F1?
The seeds of dominance are being sewn
via Eurosport
The roots of Red Bull’s dominance can be traced back to the winter of 2008 and 2009. Formula 1 underwent a major rule reset of the sport for 2009. That reset resulted in Brawn GP emerging as the dominant force from the ashes of the Honda project, but Red Bull, with the Adrian Newey-designed RB5, came of age that year Sebastian Vettel Jenson Button as the year went by, and Webber won a few races too.
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However, in the 2010 season, Red Bull showed that they mean business. In 19 races this year, Red Bull clinched 9 wins and 15 pole positions, with Vettel taking the drivers’ title in the last race of the year in Abu Dhabi. The RB6 was an evolution of the RB5 but with a wider nose, larger diffuser, and a few other changes that made it stacked with downforce. This was an inherent advantage of the car over Ferrari and McLaren for most of 2010.
Vettel championship in 2011
via Eurosport
However, the combination of RB7 and Sebastian Vettel from 2011 was perhaps Red Bull’s deadliest combination. Diffuser technology with exhaust was reduced for 2011, with exhaust gas being blown out over the diffuser to generate more downforce and the diffuser from turbulent air by protecting the rear wheels. The FIA restricted this practice for 2011 and reduced the impact of the blown diffuser. However, Red Bull developed the “cricket bat” exhaust, essentially a long, flat exhaust that helped maintain the effect of the fully exhaust-blown diffuser.
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The RB7 was also packaged extremely aggressively and looked a lot slimmer than many of its competitors. Vettel could also drive the car and manipulate the effect of the exhaust-blown diffuser in such a way that it was simply inviolable. The RB7 took 18 of 19 poles that year with Webber and Vettel at the wheel, and Vettel won 11 of the 19 races in 2011. The team and driver took both world titles with a few laps to go, making the RB7 one of the most powerful made dominant cars in the history of the sport.
Dominance in 2013
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The 2012 RB8 did not have the dominance of the RB6 or RB7 as the exhaust blowing effects were completely banned for that season. But the car still took 7 wins that year, with Vettel winning five races and Webber winning two. The team picked up another Constructors ‘title when Vettel took his third straight drivers’ title, but 2013, the final year Red Bull and Vettel won a title, was absolutely sensational. Vettel won four races at the start of the season, but nine wins in a row after the summer break this year. The RB9 didn’t have any notable tricks that gave it such an advantage in Vettel’s hands. Red Bull had just designed a monster of a car that was loaded with downforce and with which Vettel could work its magic.
A fall from grace in the hybrid era
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In the hybrid era from 2014 onwards, Red Bull fell from the top. Daniel Ricciardo took three wins this year, but Vettel won none and then went to Ferrari from 2015. Red Bull has only won races sporadically since 2014, but it was finally back in the fight for the title in 2021. Verstappen and Red Bull are making it difficult for Hamilton and Mercedes this season and it has been perhaps one of the most intense title fights of recent times. Where Red Bull is going with the upcoming 2022 regulations is unclear, but don’t be surprised if they emerge victorious in the new era of F1.
Sources: Eurosport, Max F1, AUSmotive, Formula 1, TODAYonline
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Henry Kelsall
(1616 articles published)
From JDM cars to WWII machines. Has worked at HotCars since autumn 2018.
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