Verstappen's gift to Red Bull
Four hundred races is a lot and Red Bull celebrated that landmark at Imola by winning the Grand Prix, something that had seemed extremely unlikely after Friday free practice. The win came courtesy of their champion and lynchpin, Max Verstappen, around which the team revolves, who produced another world class performance. No driver had ever won four times in a row in Imola, not even Schumacher nor Senna. The Dutchman did it in a car that was, so it seemed until race day, clearly no match for the McLaren, but his talent and aggression turned it around.
It was a wonderful gift for a team that, for the past year, has no longer been the class of the field, as it had been in the two previous seasons and in the very early part of last year. Come the end of 2024, Max still managed to win the Drivers' championship but the Constructors' title gradually became a two-way fight between McLaren and Ferrari, with the Milton Keynes squad powerless to do anything about it, something it hadn't experienced for quite a while.
Red Bull has won 124 of these 400 Grands Prix and, in the time he has been with them, Max accounts for over half of those with 65 to his name. Red Bull is now closing in on third place on the all-time winners list, just five behind Mercedes, these two teams having dominated the sport for the past fifteen years. That's not bad for a team owned by an energy drinks company that, up until 2004 had only dabbled in the sport as a sponsor.
Christian Horner has been in charge from the beginning, a constant these past twenty years. Apart from all those wins, the Milton Keynes trophy cabinet also reflects eight Drivers' World Championship crowns – four for Verstappen and four, also consecutive, for Sebastian Vettel from 2010 to 2013 and six Constructors' titles (2010-2013, 2022 and 2023). Then there are 106 pole positions, 286 podium finishes, 100 fastest race laps. Amazing numbers and they have come by opting for talented youngsters who have come through the tough school of Helmut Marko, the team's eminence grise. In fact, Red Bull placed its trust in Vettel and Verstappen when they were still teenagers.
Another key figure over the past two decades was Adrian Newey, who joined the team towards the end of 2005. Under his technical leadership came the big wins, often down to his brilliant ideas. Today, the design genius, born in Stratford-upon-Avon, has moved on to Aston Martin and his absence is being increasingly felt, given that the Red Bull is no longer the best car on the grid. However, the abilities of those still in Milton Keynes, starting with technical director Pierre Waché, are not to be underestimated. Indeed, after yesterday's race, McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella graciously admitted that the Red Bull had been the fastest car on race day in Imola. And when you can also rely on Verstappen's phenomenal talent, everything is possible.
