Red Bull: Second place a 'fantastic achievement' 03 Nov 2009
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has lauded their 2009 campaign and promised to come back even stronger in 2010. In only their fifth season of Formula One racing, the team finished second in both drivers’ and constructors’ championships and ended their year on a high with a one-two victory in Abu Dhabi.
“Second is a fantastic achievement for the team,” said Horner. “To have achieved 16 podiums, six wins, five pole positions and six fastest laps - including four one-two finishes - as well as in excess of 150 points, is a massive achievement.”
With drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, Red Bull dominated the closing stages of the season and were championship contenders right up until the penultimate round in Sao Paolo, where Jenson Button and Brawn finally put things beyond the reach of Horner’s men.
“The championship ultimately wasn’t lost in Brazil and you have to show respect to the season that Jenson and Brawn had, with a very dominant early display in the championship,” Horner admitted. “We were playing catch up thereafter.”
Starting the season without the advantage of their rivals’ double diffuser, development of Red Bull’s Renault-powered car was relentless, to the point that from midseason onwards, their Adrian Newey-designed machine had superior pace to Brawn’s at the majority of circuits.
“I think the effort that’s gone into RB5 has been superb from every member of the team,” said Horner. “We have to thank our partners, including Renault for their support and assistance - without which none of the results would have been possible this year. I think it’s a season that members of the team can be very proud of and, although second is one place off our ultimate target, it’s still a very good result.”
Horner insisted, though, that Red Bull would not be resting on their laurels, especially given the amazing pace of development that teams have been able to achieve this year in spite of the ban on in-season testing.
“There’s no room for complacency in this sport,” he said. “We’ve beaten some formidable opponents this year, but they’re not going to be sleeping. They’ve demonstrated in the second half of the year that they’ve worked very hard to recover, by winning races in Ferrari and McLaren’s case, and I’m sure they’ll be formidable opponents again next year.
“But, we’ll learn lessons from this year and I think, as the team has developed, it’s only got stronger. I’m convinced that it can continue to evolve and with continuity in our line-up, we’re perfectly placed to build on this year’s campaign in 2010.”
