5. Engine and exhaust
“Whatever Red Bull and Renault are doing at the back of the RB9, and
there is a lot of speculation over sophisticated engine mapping, it is
working. If you can get the exhaust pipe open the exhaust gas is travelling
at 200mph and if you then have them focused on the right thing – the rear
brake pads – that gives you more downforce as the speed of the exhaust gas
is enough to work the rear brake pad and the rear wing that’s on there. It
gives you a lot more grip, better traction, and you can open the throttle
more. And it saves the tyres. Other people get a little wheel spin, lose a
bit of rubber, and that’s a 10th of a second gone that isn’t coming back.”
6. Pushing the envelope
“I don’t think Red Bull are doing anything illegal. I think they exploit
the regulations. If you built a car to the letter of the regulations you
would be slower than Marussia. You have to push the rules to their limits,
get clarification from the FIA that what you are doing is legal, and so on
and so on.”
7. All-rounder
“The RB9 rides the kerbs well, it is reasonably quick on the straight, it
is excellent at both high-speed and low-speed corners. Red Bull changed the
philosophy in Abu Dhabi last year when Vettel was relegated to the back of
the grid, making it an overtaking car, so they have shown they can do it
both ways.”
8. The driver: Sebastian Vettel
“The driver is the feedback tool. He is hugely important to the design
process. You can get all the data in the world, and that helps you
understand what the car is doing out on track, but the driver then tells you
what he would like the car to do on track to suit his characteristics.
Vettel is clearly very good at this and has developed the car to his liking.”
The team behind Vettel
Adrian Newey: Formula One’s undisputed design king. Lured to Red Bull
from McLaren in 2006 by a combination of Christian Horner and David
Coulthard. Integral to Vettel’s success.
Christian Horner: Red Bull’s team principal is young – still only 39 –
but shrewd. Has created a stable environment in which his stars can thrive.
And he has made friends with Bernie Ecclestone.
Dr Helmut Marko: The right-hand man to Red Bull owner Dietrich
Mateschitz. The former F1 driver runs Red Bull’s young driver programme.
Highly influential. It was Marko who gave Vettel his chance in F1.
Norbert Vettel: Sebastian’s father. A former carpenter and keen
amateur driver. Less seen at races these days but a big influence. Started
Vettel karting at age of three at their Heppenheim home.
Hanna Prater: Vettel met his half-British half-German girlfriend at
school. Does his level best to keep her out of the papers. She comes to some
races but shuns the limelight. Not on Twitter/Facebook.
Britta Roeske: Vettel’s PR lives close to his farmhouse in Switzerland
and calls him “the boss” which sounds strange as she is 10 years
older than he is. Spends more time with him than Prater.