Red Bull are more than just a P3 on the Constructors. Their last two F1 seasons don’t quite justify their gigantic talent- both in terms of driver capability and engineering skill. Not exactly a racing outfit you’d quite enjoy seeing occupy third best on the Constructor’s podium at the end of a season. Not a racing outfit you’d find cracking under the pressure exerted by two of the biggest names in modern Formula 1 racing- Ferrari and Mercedes- either, there’s always a thrill associated with Red Bull racing.
Spearheaded by an enormously exciting combination of the experienced and dependable Daniel Ricciardo and the firebrand virtuoso, Max Verstappen, it seems 2018 might be the year where Red Bull give Ferrari an absolute run for their money; or very nearly so.
After all, given Raikkonen’s rather vapid run at Ferrari, replete with signs of somnolence behind the car, practically boiling down to Sebastian doing the bulwark of the team’s scoring, there’s a great opportunity for Red Bull to slide in.
Ricciardo, gaining 9 podiums in his last season became emblematic to being Mr. Consistent for the side and plus, there’s always the added advantage of Verstappen pressing down his opponents’ nerves. With great straight-line speed, Red Bull produced a gritty four-wheeler in the previous season.
Even their staunchest critics would content, on their day, they can cast aside the looming threat of big F1 luminaries- Ferrari and Mercedes- as they so avidly did during Verstappen’s imperious run at Sepang and Mexico City in 2017. Hamilton didn’t see it coming. Neither did Seb. There’s a special joy in Max Verstappen standing aloft the podium, breaking into that endearing smile as if to connote that a fighting neophyte has put the experienced old guards on a crackling piece of ice. You just don’t know how long they can hold on to the cracks beneath their feet.
What had seemed like a lucky escapade with the Honey-badger occupying the top slot at Baku in the first half of a tectonic 2017 season became very honestly, an onerous challenge for likes of four-time world champions- Vettel and Hamilton to conquer, given ‘Mad Max’ dominant run at Kuala Lampur and Mexico.
The aerodynamic package of the car, orchestrated by some supremely adept pit strategies, Red Bull seem far more capable of causing a big upset or two than what their 368 points on the constructor’s table reveal. There’s an energy, an emotion and an ever looming threat of Verstappen running over contemporary Formula 1’s domineering heroes: Lewis and Sebastian.
But in 2018, Verstappen and Ricciardo will have to do better than securing 2 and 1 race wins, respectively.
There’s a two-fold reason for this, no rocket-science either.
Hamilton and Vettel are at absolute par in terms of their individual world championships- being four apiece.
Any one can overtake the other in terms of scalping a checkered fifth world title.
This is exactly where one can expect Red Bull to spoil the party. Asphalt, gravel, high-speed corners or intricately challenging chicanes; it hardly seems to bother when Ricciardo is driving in full aplomb and when Verstappen is driven from within.
And implicit in the key that Red Bull hold to challenge the top two teams is the simple fact that thus far, they’ve managed to run 800 laps in total. This means, they’ve clocked around 200 laps more than their 2017 run.
While 2017’s car was plagued with some reliability issues coming to life in the exasperation suffered by both Ricciardo and Verstappen, 6 DNFs and 7 DNFs respectively, it’s being felt that the 2018 car will not showcase the previous season’s mediocrity.
Their key advantage, in this season, will once again remain with the faults committed by the frontrunner. But that said, the 2018 car package seems to be significantly better. During winter Testing in Spain, the car ran consistent laps with higher pace than the last season with the Ricciardo- Verstappen duo feeling more confident than ever.
All that said, the RB-14 with its eye-catchy blue camouflage style livery is just the kind of skin-change that a massively daring racing unit needs to get a new feeler in a brand new season. Moreover, it signals a drastic move away from the classic yellow-blue livery. Can it be just the kind of magic spell that aids the team to suppress the advantage of usual suspects; the frontrunners who hardly leave any spoils for those trailing their wings?
We will have to wait and see. For now, bring on Australia. Max and Dan-Ric are burning fire from their heels!
| Driver | Grands Prix in 2017 | Wins | Podiums | Total points | Driver’s standing |
| Ricciardo | 20 | 1- Azerbaijan | 9 | 200 | P5 |
| Verstappen | 20 | 2- Malaysia, Mexico | 4 | 168 | P6 |