© Getty ImagesThe Road to VictoriesIn just 19 seasons in Formula One we’ve done our fair share of winning. From our first victory in 2009 through to our almost unthinkable 2023 season, we’re no stranger to the top step these days.
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The best thing about sport is that you never know what’s going to happen. The smallest thing can shake up a whole race weekend, and even the whole season. Sometimes you’re on top, but sometimes it all goes wrong – so it’s important to relish in those winning moments while you can.
TheStartofSomethingBeautiful
Formula One fans will often look back at 2010 as our first year of notability – and considering we won a double championship after only being on the grid for 5 seasons prior, it’s easy to see why. But before we look back at The Great Vettel Dynasty, it’s important to look at 2009 – the year that people started taking notice.
In 2009 a young Sebastian Vettel joined the Team, and in only his third race for us he gave us our first win at the Chinese Grand Prix (which was also his first win in Formula One). It was a huge moment for the Team and from then on, there was no stopping us.
Later on that season, Mark Webber also took his first F1 win at the German Grand Prix. A year of firsts led us all the way to P2 in the Constructors Championship, after six wins and a healthy dose of podium finishes.
If you know us, then you know the only way is up. And that’s exactly where we headed.
In 2010 it literally came down to the final chequered flag. The Team sewed up the Constructors’ Championship in the penultimate race thanks to a one-two finish from Seb and Mark, but going into the final race it was all to play for in the Drivers’ Championship.
As we arrived in Abu Dhabi, Seb was sitting P3 in the drivers’ standings, behind teammate Mark in P2 and Fernando Alonso leading. Seb took pole and knew if he claimed 15 points more than Alonso, and seven more than his teammate, then he’d be Weltmeister.
Well, you probably know the rest – Seb went on to win the race, and therefore the Championship, as well as produce one of the most iconic team radio messages of all time. But if you thought that was it as far as our domination goes, just you wait sunshine…
2011 was the same story but different. At the helm of the RB7, Seb took 11 wins in the season to claim his second Championship title, but this time with four races to spare.
2012 was another close one and went down to the wire for Seb. At the season finale he finished P6, but this was enough to secure his third title ahead of Alonso again.
With 10 races completed in 2013, Seb was top of the leader board, 38 points ahead of Kimi Räikkönen in P2. What happened next went down in F1 history. Seb won the last nine races, breaking records and securing his fourth title, finishing a huge 155 points ahead of P2.
At the end of that season the Team had claimed four double World Championships, 41 wins, 85 podiums and 52 poles – in just four years.
The next few years were something of a rough patch for the team. The only sure thing about dominance in sport is that it must come to an end.
Although we never finished lower than 4th in the Constructors’ Championship for the next few years, these were challenging times when you’re coming off the back of four years of winning.
Not to say that we didn’t have some epic times from 2014-2020 though. A fresh-faced Daniel Ricciardo joined the team in place of Mark Webber for the 2014 season – in which he achieved his first win in Formula One (is there a pattern here?) at the Canadian Grand Prix. The Honey Badger went on to win another two races that season, and even more throughout his time with the team.
It would be foolish of us not to reminisce on his immensely impressive win in Monaco where he managed to take the top spot with huge power loss, a couple of gears missing, overheating brakes, and a Vettel-driven Ferrari breathing down his neck. How did he manage that? Honestly, we’re not sure.
Amongst all the tougher years there was one thing that started a glimmer of hope, and that was a teenager named Max Verstappen. When he hopped in the car in Spain for his first race in a Red Bull, no one could have guessed that he’d become the youngest ever Grand Prix winner a few hours later.
2021 held some special moments for the team. With Sergio Perez making his debut as a Bull, it wasn’t long before he scored his first win for us in Baku, the first of many visits to the podium for him.
Obviously we can’t talk about 2021 without acknowledging the ultimate nail-biter of a season finale. It’s not often that it all comes down to the last race of the season, and basically unheard of for it to come down to the last lap.
We doubt any F1 fan will forget that day, and there’s not much to be said that sums up the emotions from that last race, so instead let’s just listen to that radio message one more time 🔊
Fast-forward to 2022 and the Team were brutally dragged down from the 2021 high after a double DNF in the opening race. After not finishing the first race under new regulations, it wasn’t looking good.
However, it turns out that was just a false start. With a monumental 17 wins throughout the season, the Team took the Constructors’ Championship title with three races remaining. It was our first year since 2010 winning both Championships, even if there was some confusion in Japan over whether or not Max actually won…
And let’s not forget one of the most iconic wins of 2022 – Checo taking the top spot in Monaco for the first time in his career.
If we thought all of that was good, nobody was prepared for what happened in 2023. There are too many records to list them all here but of course here’s a few of our favourites:
- The most amount of championship points in a season (860)
- Most consecutive wins by a driver (10) and by a team (15)
- Most laps led in a season (1003)
- Most wins by a driver in a season (19)
2023 was definitely one for the history books.
So, what does this mean now? Well, as we said, that’s what’s great about sport, we don’t know, but Max, Checo and the RB20 are going to be hard to beat in 2024!
