Red Bull: Third constructors' title a ‘proud moment’ 18 Nov 2012
Sunday’s United States race did not go exactly to plan for Red Bull, with Sebastian Vettel losing out on victory and Mark Webber retiring, but the result did secure the team the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship for constructors.
It is Red Bull’s third successive title, making them only the fourth constructor in Formula One history to have achieved the feat, the others being Ferrari, McLaren and Williams.
“It’s incredible for the whole team,” said team principal Christian Horner. “The constructors’ is what we use to measure ourselves against our competitors and, for every member of the team, it’s how we gauge our performance. The drivers’ obviously has the prestige and public following but within the team they carry equal importance.
“So, to have achieved a consecutive third world championship, which only three other teams in the history of the sport have achieved, puts us into a very elite group and having done it in such a short space of time is testimony to all the members of the team. That’s all the hard work, the long hours and dedication from every department. It’s a very proud moment for every single member of the team and Red Bull.”
Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s chief technical officer and the man behind each of the team’s three title-winning cars, commented: “It’s been an amazing year. To achieve the hat trick is a tremendous tribute to the whole team. It shows we’ve managed to keep our standards up and keep consistency. The hard work, the dedication, the talent of the people back in Milton Keynes - that’s what this is all about. I hope they are celebrating and having a drink tonight.
“We are always thinking how we can improve the car and what we can do in the coming races. It’s been a difficult year and unfortunately my pre-season concerns proved to be right. Having developed the car around side exhaust technology for the last two years, losing that was a bigger step back for us than our competitors and it’s been quite a difficult evolution to get the car back to where we wanted. Getting a third title shows we’re not a flash in the pan; we’ve managed to stay at the top, to understand the car and maintain consistency which is not easy at all.
Red Bull’s achievement is all the more remarkable given that they only joined the grid in 2005, after taking over what was formerly the Jaguar team.
“The first title was amazing,” continued Newey, “because when I left McLaren for Red Bull, it was a bit of a career gamble, I was joining with a dream of perhaps trying to win races in the future with the team that I’d been involved with more or less from the start. To actually fulfil that dream and to achieve three titles has been amazing. We can all have dreams, but to do it is something special. It’s not just me personally but the whole team and this is a tribute to everyone within it.”
Cyril Dumont of Renault, who have powered Red Bull to all three of their titles, added: “Securing the constructors’ championship today is a massive achievement for the Red Bull Racing-Renault partnership. It’s our third title in six years, and the first time since 2004 that a team has won three consecutive titles. The run to the title wasn’t completely trouble-free today however, as we had an engine-related DNF on Mark’s car, but we are managing the situation with Red Bull as of course we still have a drivers’ championship to win so we will keep pushing for Brazil.”
Second place in the constructors’ championship also remains up for grabs at Interlagos next weekend, with McLaren trailing Ferrari by just 14 points after Lewis Hamilton’s Austin win.
For tickets and travel to 2012 FORMULA 1 races, click here.
For FORMULA 1 and F1 team merchandise, click here.
