WINNING FORMULA

“I THINK FORMULA 1 IS MUCH MORE THAN JUST A SPORT; SOMETIMES WHAT GOES ON BEHIND THE SCENES IS AS INTERESTING AS WHAT GOES ON ON TRACK”

In November of 2004 an upstart Red Bull—at the time mainly known for an effervescent energy drink spreading like wildfire across the globe—bought the struggling Jaguar Formula 1 Team. Eager to throw their silver can into the pinnacle of motorsports, Red Bull Racing was born. Only a couple of months later RBR tapped a relative unknown named Christian Horner to run its team, making the 31-year-old the youngest Team Principal in the sport’s history. While the stodgy world of Formula One snickered at the idea that a fizzy drinks company could come and compete with the old school giants of Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and company, RBR and Horner believed they could change the world. They notched their first podium in only their second year, capped off with a naked Horner famously leaping into the Red Bull pool with only a Superman cape to cover his assets.

Then after teaming up with future superstar driver Sebastian Vettel, in 2010 RBR won its first Constructor’s and Driver’s Championships—stunning the motorsports world and making both Horner and Vettel the youngest ever to win as Team Principal and Driver. They would do it three more times, consecutively, cementing the greatest era of dominance the sport had seen since Schumacher