Mid-season review – Red Bull: Back in form

The important figures

Constructor standings position: 2nd

Pole: 1

Podiums: 7

Victory: 1

Best result: 1st (Verstappen: Spain)

Best qualification: 1st (Ricciardo: Monaco)

A well-born chassis and a new Renault engine that provides satisfaction

If the partnership of the Austrian team with the French manufacturer for the supply of power units almost came to an end in 2015, the work of the engineers at Viry-Châtillon has brought a smile back to Christian Horner since the Renault engine block of this season has made significant progress. The RB12 therefore has everything to shine.

On average, whether in qualifying or in lap times during the race, the Red Bull drivers are around 6th place. The reasons are the four less successful first Grand Prix, Kvyat’s results in qualifying, and a less competitive Red Bull in the early rounds of the season.

In the absence of securing a victory, Ricciardo can boast of having offered a pole position to the Austrian team, and among the three drivers, he is the one who masters the RB12 the best. In 12 rounds in this first part of the season, he has only let Verstappen take the advantage once in qualifying and twice in the race—based on the fastest lap in the race—and only once to Kvyat in the race. Certainly, the Russian seemed to have missed his start and appeared below what the team expected, and Max Verstappen is only in his second season in F1, but his swift promotion within the Red Bull bastion is not due to chance.

The Flying Dutchman and the “shoey”

In Melbourne, the season started with some challenges for the Austrian team as Kvyat was stuck in Q1 in 18th position and Ricciardo managed only an 8th position. But it was on Sunday that disaster struck, with Kvyat unable to take his position on the starting grid, forcing him to retire and even causing a second formation lap. Ricciardo fared much better at home, with his slightly conservative race allowing him to secure 4th place, 15 seconds behind Vettel. In Bahrain, despite another difficult qualifying session for Kvyat, the Russian, starting from 15th, finished in 7th place, while Ricciardo recorded another podium finish.

At the Chinese Grand Prix, things seem to be looking up for Red Bull: Ricciardo secures the 2nd fastest qualifying time, and Kvyat starts a bit further back, in 6th place. However, the rest is less favorable: at the first corner, an overeager Kvyat tries to overtake Vettel on the inside, forcing the German to tighten up against Räikkönen and collide with him. At the finish, it’s nonetheless Sebastian Vettel who follows Rosberg closely, while Kvyat climbs onto the 3rd step of the podium.

In Russia, the same scenario unfolds and Kvyat once again challenges Vettel at the first braking zone, except this time, he hits him, then at turn 2, he hits him again and pushes him off track. The Ferrari driver is furious on his radio, but only learns once in the pits that it was the Russian who made contact again. Kvyat is penalized while Red Bull records its first and only scoreless result as Ricciardo was invisible and finished 11th.

Between Russia and Spain, Red Bull announces the seat swap between Daniil Kvyat and Max Verstappen, which allows them to secure the Dutchman’s presence in their team for the years to come. In a twist of fate, Verstappen takes advantage of the Mercedes collision to win and become the youngest driver to win a Grand Prix. Daniil Kvyat, like a surge of pride, records the fastest lap in the race driving the Toro Rosso.

In the Monegasque city, it’s not the same story for Verstappen: after a crash in qualifying, he starts from the pits while Ricciardo takes pole position. Unfortunately, the race doesn’t favor Red Bull. On one hand, Verstappen ends his race against the barrier at the same corner as in qualifying (Massenet) and Ricciardo reaches the pits with no one there to welcome him. The distress on the podium is immense for the Australian.

The outlook is brighter for the team, with results more consistent than those of their rival Ferrari. Back in Europe, podiums follow one another, and Ricciardo and Verstappen engage in a duel to see who can achieve the most podiums. For now, Verstappen has the advantage with three podiums since Austria, compared to two for Ricciardo, who celebrated his 100th Grand Prix with a 2nd place by performing a very Australian “shoey” (drinking alcohol from a shoe). To be continued.

The return to Spa-Francorchamps next weekend will be a beautiful stage to continue the fight: Ricciardo won in 2014 and Verstappen is almost playing at home.

Continue to tease Mercedes and ensure performance against Ferrari

For now, Red Bull must remain fully focused if it wants to maintain its runner-up position behind the Silver Arrows, because it would be presumptuous to rule Ferrari out if they don’t meet the objectives set in the winter. Certainly, since Silverstone, the Austrian team has held strong in 2nd place both in qualifying and in the race, but the Maranello team shows more reliability than at the beginning of the season.

Blues versus Reds, the battle is just beginning and the next Ardennes round promises us a great clash between the two teams.