Red Bull Racing · History

Red Bull Racing was born on 15 November 2004, when Austrian drinks company Red Bull completed the purchase of Jaguar Racing, the Formula 1 team Ford had put up for sale that September. The outfit inherited the factory in Milton Keynes, England, and made its World Championship debut in 2005 with Christian Horner as team principal. It raced under a British licence in 2005 and 2006 and was registered as an Austrian constructor from 2007.

From Stewart to Jaguar

The team's roots go back further. Jackie Stewart and his son Paul founded Stewart Grand Prix, which debuted in 1997 and won the 1999 European Grand Prix with Johnny Herbert. Ford bought the team in late 1999 and renamed it Jaguar Racing from 2000. Five seasons later, without the results it had hoped for, Ford decided to sell, and Red Bull took over the operation on the last day of the sale process.

The early years

In 2005 Red Bull used Cosworth engines and fielded David Coulthard, Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi. On 8 November that year it hired engineer Adrian Newey from McLaren. In 2006 the team switched to Ferrari power and Coulthard scored its first podium, finishing third at the Monaco Grand Prix. From 2007 it ran Renault engines and signed Mark Webber, who stayed until 2013. Coulthard retired after the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, and for 2009 Red Bull promoted Sebastian Vettel from its sister team, Toro Rosso.

The Vettel years (2009-2013)

The first pole position and the first win came on the same weekend, both by Vettel at the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix. A year later the team made the leap. Red Bull won the 2010 Constructors' Championship and Vettel took the drivers' crown, and both titles were repeated in 2011, 2012 and 2013: four consecutive doubles with Renault engines and cars designed by Newey. Relations between the two drivers were not always easy. At the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Vettel ignored a team order to hold position, sent with the code “Multi 21”, and passed Webber with 13 laps remaining. Webber left Formula 1 at the end of that season and Vettel moved to Ferrari after 2014.

Ricciardo, Verstappen and the switch to Honda

When hybrid engines arrived in 2014, Mercedes took control of the championship. Daniel Ricciardo, a Red Bull driver from 2014 to 2018, and Daniil Kvyat, his team-mate in 2015, kept the team near the front without a title challenge. In 2016 Red Bull swapped Kvyat with Max Verstappen from Toro Rosso, and the Dutchman won on his debut for the team at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, aged 18, becoming the youngest Grand Prix winner. From 2016 to 2018 the Renault engines carried TAG Heuer branding. In 2019 Red Bull moved to Honda, and Verstappen took the partnership's first win in Austria. Pierre Gasly started that year alongside him, but on 12 August he gave up the seat to Alexander Albon, who stayed on for 2020. In November 2019, at Interlagos, the crew changed all four of Verstappen's tyres in 1.82 seconds, a world record pit stop.

The Verstappen years (2021-2024)

Sergio Pérez replaced Albon in 2021. That year Verstappen became 2021 world champion at the final race in Abu Dhabi, passing Lewis Hamilton on the last lap; it was the team's first title since 2013. From 2022 the Honda engines were badged as Red Bull Powertrains. Red Bull won the 2022 and 2023 Constructors' Championships, and in 2023 it won 21 of the 22 races on the calendar. Verstappen added the drivers' titles of 2022, 2023 and 2024. On 18 December 2024, Pérez and the team ended his contract by mutual agreement.

Changes in 2025 and 2026

Liam Lawson filled the second seat for the first two races of 2025, in Australia and China, before Yuki Tsunoda took over from the Japanese Grand Prix. Newey, whose departure was announced in 2024, joined Aston Martin in March 2025. On 9 July 2025 Red Bull dismissed Horner after twenty years in charge and appointed Laurent Mekies, previously team principal of Racing Bulls, in his place. For 2026 the team chose Isack Hadjar as Verstappen's team-mate and introduced its own Red Bull Powertrains engines, developed in partnership with Ford.