© Getty ImagesThe Highs and Lows of SpaThe Team has had some good times and some bad times at the Belgian Grand Prix. Let’s take a look.
Thisyearwillseethe20thraceatSpaforOracleRedBullRacing,andeveryonewithintheTeamisexcitedbecauseitisarguablythebesttrackoftheseason.It’sfast,it’stwisty,it’supanddown,andallthismakesitathrillridefortheentire7kmofthelap.Andlet’snotforgettheraincloudscanalwaysturnupandmakeitevenmoreinteresting.
With that in mind, let’s look back at some highlights and lowlights from the Team’s 19 previous runs at Spa.
Oracle Red Bull Racing hit the F1 scene in 2005 and began collecting points from its first race, but Spa on their debut season proved tricky for the grid’s newest team. David Coulthard had to retire after 18 laps with an engine issue, and although Christian Klien finished in P9, the points were only awarded to P8 and above, so the Team walked away empty-handed. The following year, the race wasn’t held due to the Belgium government banning all tobacco advertising, which heavily sponsored F1 at the time, so no race was held. That means it took until 2007 for the Team to score their first points in Belgium. And those points went to Mark Webber, who was able to finish P7. DC unfortunately had to retire when a hydraulics failure stopped his progress on lap 30.
After a tricky start to races at the Belgium Grand Prix, the Team were able to find a rich vein of form and begin a trophy haul that lasted for six years. The first came in 2009, when Sebastian Vettel was able to take P3 after starting in P8. Mark Webber was able to go one better the following year, finishing in P2. And then in 2011, the Bulls took the top two steps on the podium, with Seb winning and Mark bringing his RB7 home in P2, 3.741s behind his teammate.
Seb collected P2 in 2012 and won again in 2013, taking the trophy count to six. Then in 2014, in only his 12th race for the Team, Daniel Ricciardo pushed his RB10 from P5 on the grid to first, making it back-to-back wins for the Aussie and his third for the Team.
In 2019, Max started in P5 alongside Kimi Räikkönen. At lights out, Sergio Pérez—starting in P7 and driving for Racing Point at the time—was able to get alongside Räikkönen into turn one. In an attempt to avoid Checo, Räikkönen moved closer to the apex, colliding with Max, who was on the inside line and had run out of space. Max looked to get away with the collision, but at turn four, his front suspension collapsed, and with no control over the steering, he crashed into the barriers, ending his race.
The 2021 Belgian Grand Prix is proof that sometimes qualifying is more important than the race. Max qualified on pole, and then on Sunday, all hell broke loose.
The weather was atrocious, and the race was delayed by three hours. After those three hours, the FIA proclaimed the tack safe enough to race. So, the drivers started behind the Safety Car and completed three laps—one of which would be classified as a racing lap. So, Max won for the first time in Belgium and won the shortest race in Formula One’s history.
At the same race in 2021, Checo crashed on the formation lap, breaking his suspension. But due to the delays, the Team had time to repair his RB16B and get him back in the race. The regulations allowed this on the condition he started from the pitlane.
The engineers were able to get his car ready, but unfortunately, due to the race being under the supervision of the Safety Car, and only one racing lap, Checo was unable to rise up and finished the race without a point.
In 2022, Max qualified in pole position but had to start from the back of the grid for exceeding his quota of power unit elements. He also received a five-place grid penalty for a new gearbox driveline. But after penalties awarded to other drivers, Max was to start the race in P14. Still a long way back from the front.
Max blitzed the start and was up to P8 by the end of the first lap. By lap 12, he was in P1 with Checo in second place. Apart from pit stops, that’s where the Bulls stayed, bringing home the first one-two finish in Spa since 2011.
The Bulls made it back-to-back one-two finishes. Checo started the race in P2 and Max in P6. Checo was in the lead by the end of the first lap, and Max was in P2 by lap nine. When Max and Checo pitted, they swapped places and stayed in that order until the chequered flag, giving Max his third win in a row and Checo’s second P2 in a row. Can they make it a hattrick this year?
The Bulls take to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit on Friday at 13:30 track time for Free Practice One. Make sure you head over to the Race Hub for all the exclusive content you need to keep you updated with Max, Checo, and the Team.
