Infiniti Red Bull Racing

Lore & Background

The current Red Bull team traces its origins back to the Stewart Grand Prix outfit that made its debut in 1997. Jackie Stewart sold his team to the Ford Motor Company late in 1999 who rebranded the team Jaguar Racing. It had little success over the next five years. Jaguar Racing was put up for sale in September 2004 when Ford decided it could 'no longer make a compelling business case for any of its brands to compete in Formula One.' Red Bull agreed its purchase of Jaguar Racing on 15 November 2004. The team continued to have access to the Cosworth engine developed for their 2005 chassis. Christian Horner was installed as the new team boss and lined up David Coulthard and Christian Klien to drive for the team. The team has competed under an Austrian racing licence since its debut in 2005. Red Bull Racing was not the start of Red Bull's involvement in Formula One, as they sponsored Sauber from 1995 to 2004 and Gerhard Berger before that, beginning in 1989. After buying a Formula One team of its own, Red Bull ended its long-term partnership with the Swiss team.

In Their Own Story

The air smelled of burnt rubber and high-octane fuel as the garage doors slid open at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. It was the morning of the Spanish Grand Prix, 2016. Mechanics moved with practiced precision around the RB12, its dark blue livery gleaming under the floodlights. A young driver in a helmet checked his visor for the first time as a Red Bull senior team member. The crowd buzzed with anticipation; everyone knew this debut would change the sport's landscape forever.

Reader's Guide

Red Bull had Cosworth engines in 2005 and Ferrari engines in 2006. The team used engines supplied by Renault between 2007 and 2018 (from 2016 to 2018, the Renault engine was re-badged TAG Heuer following the breakdown in the relationship between Red Bull and Renault in 2015). During this partnership, they won four successive Drivers' and Constructors' Championship titles in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013, led by Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, and becoming the first Austrian team to win the title. The team began using Honda engines in 2019. The works Honda partnership culminated in 2021, following Red Bull driver Max Verstappen's World Drivers' Championship victory, with Verstappen also winning the championship in 2022, 2023, and 2024; he missed out to Lando Norris in 2025. Red Bull also won two Constructors' Championship titles in 2022 and 2023, but lost out in 2021 to Mercedes and in 2024 and 2025 to McLaren. Honda left the sport officially after 2021 but continued to supply complete engines from Japan to the team partly under Red Bull Powertrains branding until the end of 2025. Following the conclusion of their partnership with Honda, Red Bull switched to Ford engines in 2026 after having signed a deal to use their engines in 2023. Red Bull have a new wind tunnel due to be operational by 2026.

Did You Know?

• Red Bull's first year in Formula One was a massive success compared to its predecessors, Jaguar Racing. They were 6th in the Constructors' Championship for most of the 2005 season.
• David Coulthard finished third at Monaco in 2006, the team's first podium finish. Team boss Christian Horner jumped into a pool wearing only a red cape after the result.
• Red Bull won four successive Drivers' and Constructors' Championship titles in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013, led by Sebastian Vettel.
• Max Verstappen won the World Drivers' Championship in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.