Formula One has been a sport that notoriously changes at a rapid pace. From front wings to hybrid engines the sport has come a long way. The sport’s teams have also come a long way and have changed greatly over the years. Just three teams, Ferrari, Williams and Mclaren, have never been re-branded. Most of the other teams have never really gone away but more so have evolved from different teams. One such example of this is the evolution of Stewart Grand Prix to Red Bull Racing.
Stewart Grand Prix 1997-1999
Stewart Grand Prix was formed by F1 legend Jackie Stewart and his son Paul Stewart in 1996. The team had stemmed from Paul Stewart Racing after Paul had entered the team in the British Formula 3. After initially declining to enter the pinnacle of motor sport Stewart were persuaded when Ford offered to be their engine supplier for the 1997 world championship.
The team entered Formula 1 in 1997 with drivers Rubens Barrichello and Jan Magnussen at the wheel. With two talented drivers expectations were high. Unfortunately the performance did not live up to the hype. A second place finish for Barichello in Monaco proved the highlight of the season with the Ford powered SF01 proving very unreliable. The 1998 proved an even greater struggle for Stewart GP. Neither car made it onto the podium for the whole season with Magnussen leaving the team to be replaced by Jos Verstappen. Technical director Alan Jenkins was also replaced by Gary Anderson at the end of the season.
The 1999 season was far more fruitful for Stewart. After Verstappen left to be replaced by Johnny Herbert and the acquiring of Cosworth by Ford the team were on a clean slate. The team proved consistently competitive and were it not for engine reliability issues things could have been so much better for Stewart. The highlight of the season came at the Nurburgring were Johnny Herbert took Stewart GP’s only ever F1 win. Stewart GP ceased to exist after Ford purchased 100% ownership of the team at the end of the 1999 season.
Jaguar Racing 2000-2004
After Ford purchased Stewart GP outright in 1999 they re-branded the team as Jaguar Racing for the 2000 season. The Jaguar reign was to prove a turbulent one that did not improve on gains made by Stewart GP.
Rubens Barrichello had left the Milton Keynes based team at the end of the 1999 and was replaced with World Championship runner-up Eddie Irvine. The 2000 season was a flop and did not yield any significant results for Jaguar. With the hope of improving for 2001 the technical director Wolfgang Reitzle was replaced by American Racing Champion Bobby Rahal.
But both 2001 and 2002 would prove no better for Jaguar. Pedro De La Rosa was added to the diver roster and former F1 legend Niki Lauda joined the team as a director. Results continued to slide however as the team went from points challengers to a midfield team with the threat of slipping to the back of the field. Rahal clashed with Lauda and resigned at the end of the season. Irvine managed a podium finish at Monaco but that was a consolation. The 2002 season was a complete disaster for Jaguar. Irvine retired from 10 of the 17 races with no podium finishes being scored.
2003 saw Australian Mark Webber drafted in to replace Irvine. Under the leadership of John Hogan the team saw an upturn in fortunes with Webber scoring consistent points finishes. 2004 was a mixed season for the team. Webber was not quite as consistent while teammate Antonio Pizzonia failed to make an impact. Ford, now frustrated with the lack of progress, sold the team to drinks producer Red Bull at the end of the 2004 season.
Red Bull Racing 2005-Present
Red Bull took full control of the former Jaguar team for the 2005 season. Former Mclaren driver David Coulthard would be the team’s number one driver. The team proved a success in their maiden season and amassed more points than Jaguar had in 2003 and 2004 combined by the end of 2005. In 2006 the team reached their first significant milestone. Coulthard managed a 3rd place finish at Monaco which was not to be their last by any means.
Adrian Newey had designed the car for the 2007 car which proved the beginning of a strong relationship. Mark Webber was to drive alongside Coulthard after re-signing with his former team. The season was dogged by reliability issues. In 2008 the team fared no better when in a somewhat cruel twist of faith their “B” team Toro Rosso took victory at the Italian Grand Prix with Sebastian Vettel claiming the chequered flag. Vettel was signed on for the 2009 season to drive alongside Mark Webber for Red Bull. 2009 saw big improvements for the team. Vettel took out Red Bull’s first ever win at the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix with the team also securing 153.5 points in total.
It was in 2010 that Red Bull became a Formula 1 superpower. Vettel began scoring consistent pole positions and saw himself battling with both his team mate and rivals around him such as Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso. The season came down to the deciding race in Abu Dhabi. Vettel took the win and denied Spaniard Alonso his third world title hence crowning Vettel world champion.
In 2011 Vettel dominated and won 11 of the season’s races as well as securing an incredible 15 pole positions. Vettel then made it a hat-trick of world titles in 2012 after a scintillating season long battle with Fernando Alonso. It came down again to the final race this time in Brazil where Vettel finished sixth after coming back from last to once again deny Alonso in the Ferrari. The 2013 season was again Vettel dominated taking his fourth title in a row, surpassing the total of three of achieved by legends such as Ayrton Senna. This prompted Mark Webber to quit F1 after his relationship with Vettel had deteriorated following the infamous “Multi-21” incident at Malaysia.
2014 saw a reality check for Red Bull. After securing Constructor’s and driver’s titles for four seasons running the switch to hybrid engines gave rise to Mercedes. Despite Australian Daniel Ricciardo taking 3 wins Red Bull finished a long way behind the dominant Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton. At the end of the 2014 season Sebastian Vettel announced he was to leave to join Ferrari after 6 years at Red Bull. This signalled the end of an era for the Milton Keynes based team.
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