Having torn Formula One’s form book up for the last five seasons, taking four consecutive driver’s and constructor’s world titles (the former all with Sebastian Vettel), Red Bull Racing appear to be starting 2014 on the back foot.
Following a disaster in winter testing which saw the team manage just 1,706 kilometres in testing, compared to main rivals McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari who all managed well over 4,000km, the team have not had nearly as much time as they would have liked on the track. The car however appears quick when it is working.
“I’m sure they’ve got a pretty quick car,”Lewis Hamilton told BBC Sport.
One major issue Red Bull has had is completing a race distance. They are yet to complete 300 consecutive kilometres on track without having an issue, which will make finishing in Melbourne and then in hotter climates like Malaysia and Bahrain incredibly tricky.
The main issue appears to be the new Renault powertrain. It appears not to use fuel as much as Ferrari and maybe Mercedes (as it did with the V8s) but it seems to overheat very easily. The only Renault-powered team to get some serious mileage in testing was Caterham and their car has visibly larger areas for cooling. Red Bull will probably get on top of this before the end of the season but it’s a question of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’. If it is too late and the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Williams are too far ahead already, they may divert attention to their 2015 car like some teams did last season. Otherwise, they will possibly develop the RB10 through to the end of the season.
Technically, a few team members have gone elsewhere, notably to McLaren, but the key members like team principal Christian Horner and chief designer Adrian Newey remain at the team. Newey usually builds a quick car, which can sometimes be fragile in the first few rounds. There is a slight change in the driver line-up as well.
1 – Sebastian Vettel
Going for his 10th consecutive victory, Vettel is surely the driver on form going into the new season. However, just finishing will surely be the main priority for the German going to Australia. If he can pick up as many points as possible early on in the season and hope the car improves its reliability once the European rounds start, he can mount a title challenge once again. (Note: Vettel has selected the number 5 as his career number, but as reigning champion, is using number 1.)
3 – Daniel Ricciardo
For the sixth season in succession Vettel has an Australian teammate. However, it is not Mark Webber. Instead he has former HRT and Toro Rosso driver Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo impressed in qualifying last season, but was often anonymous in the races. To avoid becoming a number two driver like Webber was for the majority of the last 5 years, the young Aussie will certainly have to up his race pace. Vettel will be tough to beat over the season, as you would expect for a four-times champion.
TBC – Sebastien Buemi
In addition to his role as Red Bull’s long-term test and reserve driver, Buemi will continue racing in the World Endurance Championship for Toyota.
TBC – Antonio Felix da Costa
Having been denied the second Toro Rosso seat last season, Portugal’s future star will race in German Touring Cars (DTM) against the likes of former F1 stars Paul di Resta, Timo Glock and Vitaly Petrov and Force India reserve Daniel Juncadella, as well as being a test driver for Red Bull and Toro Rosso.
You could say that developing last year’s car so late into the season when they had a clear performance advantage has cost them this season. Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Williams all diverted attention to 2014 very early on, whereas Red Bull and Lotus didn’t focus until much later in the season.
Wins early on will be incredibly tough for Red Bull. In fact, podiums and perhaps even points may be out of the question. Once they get on top of their reliability issues however, they’ll be right at the front once again.
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