© Red Bull Racing HondaThe Cutting EdgeDMG MORI Renew Partnership With Red Bull Racing Honda.
WhatgoesintowinningaFormulaOneGrandPrix?There’satemptationtolookatthegreatqualifyingperformance,thebraveovertakingmoveorthelightning-fastpitstop.Veryrarelydoesanyoneeulogisethevalueofanefficientproductionprocess–butinthemoderneraofFormulaOne,this,moreoftenthannotiswherethecuttingedgeofcompetitionresides.
From the outside, you’d be blissfully unaware of what’s going at the Red Bull Racing Honda Technology Campus in Milton Keynes. Inside though it’s an incredible machine, sucking in raw materials at one end and turning out race-winning Formula One cars at the other. It runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, delivering performance in microsecond instalments. Our car will never be in the same specification two races in a row. Rarely, in fact, will it be same specification two days in a row, such is the pace at which development in F1 proceeds. In a sport where pole position is regularly decided by hundredths of a second, the tenth of a second we can find with a suite of upgrades will make all the difference – but designing it is only half the battle.
Increasingly, the speed at which a new part can progress from design sign-off to the track is crucial. Time is a finite resource and if the team can get its upgrades onto the car sooner, it can gain an immediate benefit and challenge to win races.
DMG Mori© Red Bull Racing Honda
Our expertise, however, doesn’t lie in production technology. We rely on the skill and experience of our technology partners, and no-one more so than DMG MORI, who have been our machine tool supplier since before we first took to the track in 2005. They’ve been instrumental in our rise out of the midfield to become one of the most successful F1 teams of all time.
DMG MORI became an Innovation Partner in 2012 and we’re more-than pleased they have chosen to renew our partnership heading into what is likely to a be a challenging new era for F1. Their equipment fills our machine hall, and the efficient, competent hum of five-axis machining centres is an ever-present in the background of life in the factory. There are currently over 20 machines continually milling the next generation of parts for the Red Bull Racing Honda RB16B, from the smallest, most intricate fasteners through to the most hard-wearing gearbox components – and we’re getting a new machine later this year.
With the arrival of a second DMU 210P it’s a real red-letter day for the production engineering office. It’s big and its beautiful, efficient, accurate and ultra-reliable, even under the intense strain of the 24/7 working week in a Formula One factory. It’s capable of significantly speeding-up our throughput of incredibly precise components. It provides us with greater flexibility in our workflow, and very much fits into the modern F1 imperative of delivering more for less.
Red Bull Racing Factory© Getty Images
As part of our Innovation Partnership, DMG MORI provides servicing and technical support, ensuring maximum reliability and minimum downtime – no matter how extreme our demands. And those demands are extreme. However well the production facility is working, we always need it to go just that little bit faster. We need to have an enthusiastic approach to continuous improvement in our manufacturing operation, and DMG MORI plays a big part in that.
The machines and services supplied by DMG MORI are an integral part of our success on track.
“We are delighted to extend our Innovation Partnership with DMG MORI,” says Christian Horner. “The machines and services supplied by DMG MORI are an integral part of our success on track and we look forward to continue building our relationship in the years to come”.
Steve Finn, Managing Director of DMG MORI (UK) adds: “We are extremely proud to have extended the Innovation Partnership with Red Bull Racing Honda for several more years. Working alongside a fast-moving industry gives us a great opportunity to hone our skill sets and provide true innovation.”
We’re all motorsport enthusiasts at Red Bull Racing Honda and we enjoy the on-track action as much as the next Formula One fan – but the pursuit of performance means that we are constantly striving to deliver the next upgrade, find the next advantage and turn up at the next race with the fastest car. Do the best job at the factory with the best tools, and that becomes a lot easier.
