Red Bull homecoming celebrates title double
Red Bull Racing have been busy celebrating their victories in the 2010 drivers’ and constructors’ championships at Red Bull’s Austrian base in Salzburg.
Newly-crowned 2010 world champion Sebastian Vettel, team mate and six-time Grand Prix winner Mark Webber, team principal Christian Horner and chief technical officer Adrian Newey all travelled from Abu Dhabi to Hangar-7, where they were greeted by a traditional Austrian band - and a standing ovation.
“The past couple of months have been a unique experience for me and I have experienced great moments, which I will never forget, but there were also some difficult situations,” said Vettel, who clinched the title with victory as Yas Marina on Sunday. "I am very proud of what we have achieved - it’s a great moment for me and the whole team.”
Vettel, who has been backed by Red Bull since early in his career, said he was now looking forward to a little time off to relax and to take in the depth of his achievement, before returning to work with the team in a bid to defend both championships next season.
“I am very happy with this team - we’re like a big family, everyone has fun and is dedicated to what they are doing; only when it’s like this is it possible to achieve at such a high level. Without the support I received from the Red Bull Junior Programme, I would not be sitting here today as a world champion.”
For Webber, the celebrations were understandably more muted, the Australian having narrowly missed out on the drivers’ crown despite arriving in Abu Dhabi in a better position than Vettel. Nevertheless, he insisted 2010 had been a great year for both him and the team, and paid tribute to his team mate and biggest rival.
“The constructors’ championship was very important for Red Bull - and shows that this season has bound the team together; we can all be very proud of what we have achieved,” he said. “I just missed my personal target this season, but there were many highlights and the next season starts soon.
“It’s not always been easy for either of us (Seb or me) during the year, but this is normal when you’re competing against each other at this level. We both wanted to become world champion and therefore we pushed the whole team to perfection. At the end of the season, we are honestly able to show respect for each other’s performance, which is very important. Congratulations to Sebastian, he really deserves the title.”
Red Bull’s championship success has come in only their sixth season of Formula One racing, an incredible achievement for such a young team, and for Horner, at 37 one of the youngest team principals on the grid.
“I have to congratulate both drivers, as well as the whole team,” said the Englishman. “We have overcome all the problems we experienced and pushed each other to the limit. We were able to keep top teams such as Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes in check and will work hard on keeping it that way in the future. This is the next big challenge for the whole team.”
For Newey, designer of the championship-winning RB6, 2010’s triumph means he has now won constructors’ titles with three different teams, following his previous successes with Williams and McLaren.
“After six years of hard work in Milton Keynes we have reached the target,” he commented. “The package was excellent: the drivers, team and cars worked well as a unit. For 2011 we need to further perfect this, in order to defend these championships.”
Following the Salzburg celebrations, Horner, Newey, Webber and Vettel were all flying back to the UK to see the Red Bull team at their base in Milton Keynes.
Newly-crowned 2010 world champion Sebastian Vettel, team mate and six-time Grand Prix winner Mark Webber, team principal Christian Horner and chief technical officer Adrian Newey all travelled from Abu Dhabi to Hangar-7, where they were greeted by a traditional Austrian band - and a standing ovation.
“The past couple of months have been a unique experience for me and I have experienced great moments, which I will never forget, but there were also some difficult situations,” said Vettel, who clinched the title with victory as Yas Marina on Sunday. "I am very proud of what we have achieved - it’s a great moment for me and the whole team.”
Vettel, who has been backed by Red Bull since early in his career, said he was now looking forward to a little time off to relax and to take in the depth of his achievement, before returning to work with the team in a bid to defend both championships next season.
“I am very happy with this team - we’re like a big family, everyone has fun and is dedicated to what they are doing; only when it’s like this is it possible to achieve at such a high level. Without the support I received from the Red Bull Junior Programme, I would not be sitting here today as a world champion.”
For Webber, the celebrations were understandably more muted, the Australian having narrowly missed out on the drivers’ crown despite arriving in Abu Dhabi in a better position than Vettel. Nevertheless, he insisted 2010 had been a great year for both him and the team, and paid tribute to his team mate and biggest rival.
“The constructors’ championship was very important for Red Bull - and shows that this season has bound the team together; we can all be very proud of what we have achieved,” he said. “I just missed my personal target this season, but there were many highlights and the next season starts soon.
“It’s not always been easy for either of us (Seb or me) during the year, but this is normal when you’re competing against each other at this level. We both wanted to become world champion and therefore we pushed the whole team to perfection. At the end of the season, we are honestly able to show respect for each other’s performance, which is very important. Congratulations to Sebastian, he really deserves the title.”
Red Bull’s championship success has come in only their sixth season of Formula One racing, an incredible achievement for such a young team, and for Horner, at 37 one of the youngest team principals on the grid.
“I have to congratulate both drivers, as well as the whole team,” said the Englishman. “We have overcome all the problems we experienced and pushed each other to the limit. We were able to keep top teams such as Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes in check and will work hard on keeping it that way in the future. This is the next big challenge for the whole team.”
For Newey, designer of the championship-winning RB6, 2010’s triumph means he has now won constructors’ titles with three different teams, following his previous successes with Williams and McLaren.
“After six years of hard work in Milton Keynes we have reached the target,” he commented. “The package was excellent: the drivers, team and cars worked well as a unit. For 2011 we need to further perfect this, in order to defend these championships.”
Following the Salzburg celebrations, Horner, Newey, Webber and Vettel were all flying back to the UK to see the Red Bull team at their base in Milton Keynes.
Credit: Formula One Administration Ltd (http://www.formula1.com)
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