(Motorsports news) Red Bull’s story, in Webber’s opinion, “has to be one of the great success stories of Formula 1.” The nine-time F1 race winner, Red Bull driver from 2007 to 2013, current TV analyst, and manager of Oscar Piastri said, “If it were a manufacturer, it might get some more praise and notoriety.”
Max Verstappen’s victory in the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix marked Red Bull’s 100th F1 world championship race victory, a feat only four other teams (Ferrari, McLaren, Williams, and Mercedes) have accomplished in the 73-year history of the competition. Red Bull is now the quickest F1 manufacturer to reach 100 victories after Sebastian Vettel won the 2009 Chinese GP ahead of his then-teammate Webber. Williams came in second with their 100 victories coming in 18 years from 1979 to 1997.
At various points in their history, Red Bull, McLaren, and Williams were all effectively factory-backed teams. Red Bull is now slated to start producing its own engines with Ford starting in 2026. But because its owner is an energy drink business with a tendency for planning bombastic marketing campaigns and events, Red Bull struggled to shake off an image as being nothing more than a “party team,” especially during the early years of its so far 18-year stay as an F1 entry.
This has significantly changed since Red Bull started to triumph in 2009, one season after Sebastian Vettel claimed victory for the team’s junior team, then known as Toro Rosso, at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, and in particular since its decision to hire Adrian Newey from 2006 resulted in a dominant run to four championships in four years from 2010–2013, a position it has now returned to with Max Verstappen leading the team.
“Because, in essence, it’s still a team consisting of fantastic people who have done an excellent job of designing beautiful Formula 1 vehicles for world championships with constructors’ and drivers’ titles and to be dominating in many ways. The fact that they were able to do that, in my opinion, is a fantastic success story. And what they’ve done for the sport in that region, such as with their employees and Milton Keynes’ infrastructure, has been a credit to them.
“And while I won’t say that their employees’ and the public’s overall commitment to the sport is unparalleled, it is pretty bloody good. Many people have came and gone. And see what these men did with two teams. People tend to overlook the huge amount of labor Red Bull has invested in the sport”.
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