Vettel’s RB8 offered to Lindblad during a demonstration in Houston
Last week, Red Bull decided to demonstrate in Houston. An opportunity for fans to rediscover the brand's old cars and for drivers to drive them, like Arvid Lindblad, a Formula 3 driver, who had the opportunity to drive the RB8, the single-seater with which Sebastian Vettel won the title in 2012.
After a disappointing Italian Grand Prix, Red Bull changed the scenery in the run-up to the Grand Prix of the Americas near Austin. Last week, they offered a spectacular show run in Houston, right next door, an event that allowed fans to see the former cars of the Austrian team and watch former drivers perform some donuts and burnouts, like David Coulthard. Among the former single-seaters present, one in particular caught the attention: the RB8. This car, with its ultra-noisy V8 engine, was driven by Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel during the 2012 season.
A single-seater entrusted to Arvid Lindblad
Thanks to this single-seater, Sebastian Vettel won five races and the champion title at the end of the season, the third of his career, with a three-point lead over his main rival, the Spaniard from Ferrari, Fernando Alonso. With a total of seven victories, the Austrian team also secured the constructors’ title at the end of the season. Given its achievements, Red Bull has reintroduced it on multiple occasions during demonstrations. This year, despite its age, the Milton Keynes team decided to entrust it to a young talent: British driver Arvid Lindblad, a Formula 3 driver at Prema and a member of the Red Bull academy.
A unique opportunity for this young talent, who has just completed a very interesting first season in Formula 3, finishing fourth in the championship. Meanwhile, the Scottish David Coulthard, a former driver for the team between 2005 and 2008, drove the RB9, the world championship-winning car in 2013, repainted in the current team’s livery for the occasion.
A Red Bull painted with the colors of Racing Bulls
However, in Texas, Red Bull made the unusual decision to change the livery of its RB8 to repaint it in the colors of another team: Racing Bulls. This demonstration is aimed at highlighting the different sponsors of the team. The Austrian team is also looking to develop its second team, formerly named Toro Rosso then AlphaTauri starting in 2020, and now Visa CashApp RB in 2024: a new name change in order to benefit from sponsorship contracts from CashApp, one of its main sponsors.
Furthermore, the fact that this show run is taking place in Texas is not insignificant, as Racing Bulls’ numerous partners are mainly seeking to expand in the United States, where interest in Formula 1 is growing stronger, thanks in particular to Liberty Media. The owner of F1 has always aimed to increase interest in F1 beyond the Atlantic, having for example increased the number of races on American soil to three, with Miami, Austin, and now Las Vegas. After this stopover, the Austrian company is now focusing on the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and hopes to reverse the trend after several difficult races.
