(Motorsports news) Who would have imagined that early in 2007 Red Bull Racing would be fighting against the idea that they’re going to do pretty well this season—just a year ago, when they were still nursing a “Jag Rac” hangover? Even though it takes a team to create a contemporary Formula One car, some people still think that one person may have a significant impact.
Has Adrian Newey’s hiring at Red Bull had such an impact? Maybe, but maybe not. Before the RB3, the vehicle that unmistakably carries his authorial stamp, had ever turned a wheel, Newey publicly downplayed such lofty expectations at the Autosport International event in January.
“To be honest, I can’t recall what I said,” says Newey. When the [McLaren] MP4-18A was released, there was a lot of hype that said it was the car that would defeat Ferrari, but in reality, it was one of the worst cars I’ve ever been in charge of. The 18A was extensively tested in 2003 but never raced, and the 2004 MP4-19 was basically the 18A, rebadged. “Certainly, I never feel comfortable with hype,” the author says. Because you get trashed if you don’t meet expectations, I’d like to be in a position to exceed them. That is how the sport is.]
Practically speaking, though, Red Bull is a young team, which was one of the draws of signing with them. They’re not actually an old team, despite what you might think if you were to rebrand them as Jaguar. I would estimate that more over half of the technical team is post-Jaguar. The staff is incredibly talented across the board, but we haven’t had much time to get to know one another. In addition, we lack the resources of a seasoned team at this time.
Hearing that is intriguing—some could even say extraordinary—because there is a reasonable belief that the Red Bull organization is extraordinarily wealthy. As I explain this to Newey, team principal Christian Horner, who has just strolled in to grab a laptop, yells, “Uh oh!” and quickly leaves. However, there is unquestionably a significant distinction between having money and having the infrastructure necessary to make sure it is used wisely.
“There is,” responds Newey. “Red Bull has a healthy budget, but it’s complete nonsense that some other team owners are spreading the idea that we’re big spenders and the Chelsea of Formula One.” Budget isn’t an acceptable reason for poor performance, yet we lack the funding and resources that established manufacturer teams do.
And he would know, having spent ten years at McLaren’s top-notch F1 production and research and development facilities. So where does Red Bull need resources? Despite a rush of senior hires over the last 18 months, they still have a relatively small workforce (450 employees, not counting marketing), compared to the roughly 550 at Honda and McLaren, according to Newey.
We’ve already expanded quickly, adds Newey. We now require a time of stability as we establish all the systems and acquaint ourselves with one another. Additionally, we’re still improving our facilities. While the wind tunnel will be useful, it lacks some of the capabilities that the top teams now possess, and the simulation facilities will take some time to develop. They are not something you can simply order off the shelf and have delivered the following day.
Last June, Red Bull officially opened their brand-new wind tunnel. Notwithstanding its lack of state-of-the-art features, it is a 60% tunnel that, for a comparable lead time, produces findings that are demonstrably more accurate than a 50% facility (the main negative of a 100% tunnel is the time it takes to build the parts to be tested). Early in his career at Red Bull, Newey made the decision to concentrate on the RB3 rather than work on the problematic RB2, which forced him to postpone RB3 aero testing until the new tunnel was operational rather than transferring from the old to the new one in 2006.
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