What Red Bull’s Quit Threat Says About The Team.
Red Bull Joined the sport 10 years ago as a fully fledged constructor, taking over the remains of the Ford owned Jaguar team. Dietrich Mateschitz was seen as a saviour, saving many jobs, creating new ones and eventually buying Minardi too.
The team Started out with an open chequebook policy and went on a Chelsea style recruitment drive, purchasing every technical mind they could, including the great Adrian Newey. This really didn’t win the team many fans within the paddock but did show a commitment to win at any cost. Then came along the Resource Restriction Agreement (RRA) which Red Bull did not like and were reportedly the first to break the teams status-quo, quit the teams association (FOTA) and spend what they liked.
Red Bull have also been known to make their disappointment clear when things haven’t gone their way. You may remember the double diffuser row in 2009 which Red Bull was furious (because they didn’t think of it first). Do you also remember the ‘off throttle blown diffuser’ row in Silverstone 2011. Red bull argued furiously for concessions to their Renault power units as they had the most to lose. In the end the decision was deferred for the off the season.
Also last year (2013) we saw the constant lobbying and criticism of Pirelli to change the tyres because they didn’t suit their car. (but suited others). They got their way too and went on to win the final 9 races of they year once the tyres were reverted to the 2012 construction. Of course Pirelli had some failures but the lobbying and fighting was evident well before the Silverstone race.
So now Red Bull find themselves in yet another row. A row where they decided that their own way of measuring fuel was better than the governing body’s, Where they arrogantly chose not to heed the advice of the FIA during the race when they were advised what they needed to do to comply with the regulations.
The team are making all the noises of a team that has been hard-done-by and yet they had the same sensors as everyone else. Everyone else have also had problems but chose to comply with the regulations and trust in the FIA. Red Bull chose not to. In doing so they are trying to prove that they are above the law and should not be tolerated. Even if Red Bull can prove that using their own measurements they did not use more than the limit of 100kg/ph they have still broken the rules regarding not using the FIA provided equipment.
Dietrich Mateschitz’s threats last week about quitting Formula One are a childish threat, one that smacks of a spoilt child throwing his toys out of the pram. As such I don’t believe them to be serious, just trying to influence those in power at the FIA and throw some weight around.
Red Bull go to the World Motorsport Council on the 14th April (after two more Grand Prix) to argue their innocence and appeal their Australian ban. If they win, not only does it set a horrendous precedent in which as long as you have your own measurements, you don’t need the official one’s, but morally it would reward arrogance and un-sportsmanlike behaviour.