The Red Bull F1 racing family have courted controversy ever since they arose from the ashes of the Ford-Jaguar F1 project. Loud and brash the team entered the paddock, often with pumping beats drowning out the pit lane such as “Who let the dogs out?”

A year later Red Bull billionaire Didi Mateschitz shocked the F1 world when he made his second acquisition of a team and it was fans favourite Minardi ahead of the 2006 season. The team was renamed Toro Rosso, reflecting its Italian heritage and the location of its base in Faenza.

For some time the team was considered the Red Bull junior team and became a breeding ground for the Austrian companies young driver programme. Yet over time the team has become more than just training ground for potential candidates for the Red Bull Racing programme but it has produced top F1 drivers like Sebastian Vettel (4 times WDC), Daniel Ricciardo (8 GP wins) and Max Verstappen who is heading towards his fourth consecutive F1 drivers’ titles.

 

 

 

Junior becomes sister team

The RBR sister team has morphed over the years into Alpha Tauri (a fashion sponsor) and now it is registered with the FIA as the “Visa Cash App RB F1 team” in line with new sponsorship this year coming from the USA. Being the only organisation to run two teams, Red Bull has faced criticism from others in terms of the potential advantages this arrangement brings. 

In Singapore this year, for no apparent reason Daniel Ricciardo who was languishing in the lower regions of the field was called in, given a fresh set of tyres to go and claim the fastest lap. At the time it sat with runaway race leader – McLaren driver Lando Norris – who is Max’s main title threat.

Despite V-CARB’s protestations that this move was the big send of for Daniel Ricciardo, who had been axed by the team, it was apparent to all that V-CARB’s decision in effect denied Max’s key rival the single point the fastest lap brings.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown was predictably ‘not amused’ stating he would “ask questions” about the implications coming from V-CARB’s decision to assist another driver in another team. Then ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix, the world council ‘co-incidentally’ voted to remove the bonus point for the fastest lap from the 2025 F1 season onwards.

Audi decides to sell its F1 team

 

 

 

V-CARB: “The worst team name in F1 history”

Well now it appears that the Red Bull sister team is up for yet another identity change for next year as they ditch the heavily criticised V-CARB RB tag. 

Senior F1 journalist, Ed Straw labelled the racing outfits name registered with the FIA as “the worst team name in Formula One history” and suggested this was a reflection of a growing lack of identity within the Red Bull organisation.

In response to widespread criticism and mockery of the V-CARB RB badge, Red Bull will change the identity of their sister team once again for 2025. The team will be called simply the Racing Bulls and there will be a livery switch as expected where the bull logo of the parent company will feature more prominently.

Visa Cash App arrived in F1 with a huge bang at the start of this season but the re-naming of the team will have no impact on the current sponsorship arrangement. Their logos will remain on the car, although possibly smaller and the colour scheme is expected to continue to reflect the emblems of Visa Cash App.

F1 steward calls Max’s mindset “horrible”

 

 

 

RBR even closer relationship with sister team

Throughout its various guises the Faenza based team has won two grand prix in its nineteen year association with Red Bull. The first was when a relatively unknown Sebastian Vettel proved his genius when he led the 2008 Italian Grand Prix from start to finish in some pretty horrendous and wet conditions.

This remained the team’s only podium until 2019 in Hockenheim, when Daniil Kvyat drove the race of his life, coming home behind Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel. The team then transitioned into Alpha Tauri and proceeded to claim another victory that season as Pierre Gasly brought the team a race win, and it was once again in Monza.

Now the team are represented by Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson following the earlier than expected exit for Daniel Ricciardo following the Singapore Grand Prix. Lawson claimed two points on debut and Tsunoda leads the charge for the team with his 22 points.

V-CARB altered its arrangements mid way through the 2023 season and began to buy as many ‘listed parts’ form Red Bull Racing as the FIA rules allowed. This elevated the team from their plumb last in the constructors’ table to eight following the introduction of revised parts at the USGP.

Mercedes pit lane start for Brazil

 

 

 

Team collaborations part of F1 history

Such was the improvement V-CARB finished the year just three points behind Haas F1, something which looked unlikely with five race weekends remaining.

Red Bull have been criticised previously for using their ‘junior team’ to assist one of the Red Bull drivers. In Qatar 2021 Pierre Gasly dived out of the way of Max Verstappen with such vigour, his car left the circuit completely and the Red Bull driver was quickly on his way.

Yet the history of F1 demonstrates that collegiate relationships do exist between the various competitors. Manufacturers such as Ferrari have in times gone by requested some assistance in a race from the driver of a customer team fitted with a Ferrari engine.

A delighted Mattia Binotto revealed in 2020 that customer team Haas F1 would be taking Ferraro academy driver and F2 champion Mick Schumacher.

The Red Bull relationship between their two teams remains an irritation for some, with Zak Brown recently calling for the 2030 Concorde agreement outlawing two F1 entries being owned by the same entity. However for now the FIA appear to have little interest In legislating that way and so we will see next year the newly rebranded RB’s and the Red Bull out of the same stable.

Perez responds to public criticism of his team

 

 

 

Verstappen SHOCKED after latest swearing incident

Charles Leclerc is facing a probable investigation from the FIA stewards for ‘bad language’ he used in the press conference following the conclusion of the Mexican Grand Prix. The Monegasque is the first driver to swear in such an event since Max Verstappen was sanctioned in Singapore and given what is effectively ‘community service’ punishment.

The Ferrari driver was explaining how he almost put his SF-24 into the wall in the closing moments of the Grand Prix. Towards the end of his answer Leclerc excitedly explained: “I had one oversteer and then when I recovered from that oversteer, I had an oversteer from the other side and then I was like, ‘f**k’.”

Leclerc instantly realised what he had done in front of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris and he quickly reacted, “Oh, sorry!” before adding: “Oh, no, oh no! I don’t want to join Max!”…. READ MORE