Red Bull Racing celebrate at Milton Keynes HQ 80hat

Christian Horner, Sebastian Vettel, Adrian Newey and Mark Webber address the Milton Keynes Red Bull Racing staff

Nov.20 (Red Bull Racing) Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber got two long, sustained ovations when they arrived at the Red Bull Racing headquarters in Milton Keynes on the second leg of the celebratory home-coming tour.

Sebastian Vettel on the mike

Having visited Red Bull’s Salzburg HQ on Monday, the next day Vettel, Webber, Adrian Newey and Christian Horner were able to thank the wider team.
The race team had been away for more than two weeks and this was the first chance for the drivers to congratulate and celebrate with the 600 or so people who design and create the cars and establish the infrastructure which makes it all possible.
Newey thanked the team for the work they had put in, while reminding them that there are further challenges ahead: “After six years of hard work in Milton Keynes we have reached the target. The package was excellent: the drivers, team and cars worked well as a unit. For 2011 we need to further perfect this, in order to defend these Championships.”

Sebastian Vettel and Webber give a birthday cake to team principal Christian Horner

But the afternoon was about taking a moment to reflect on two world titles and the hard work which has gone into that success. Both Webber and Vettel paid tribute to the UK-based team.
Seb said: “I am very proud of what we have achieved – it’s a great moment for me and the whole team and I’m very happy with this team; we’re like a big family, everyone has fun and is dedicated to what they are doing. Only when it’s like this is it possible to achieve at such a high level.”
And while Mark was clearly disappointed, he was magnanimous. He recognised the incredible input and sacrifice all those who worked for the team had put in. He said: “The Constructors’ was very important for Red Bull and shows that this season has bound the team together. I just missed my personal target, but there were many highlights. It’s not always been easy for either Seb or me the year, but this is normal when you’re competing against each other at this level. At the end of the season, we are honestly able to show respect for each other’s performance, which is very important. Congratulations to Sebastian, he really deserves the title.”
Team boss Horner said: “I have to congratulate the whole team. We have overcome all the problems we experienced and pushed each other to the limit. We were able to keep top teams such as Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes in check and will work hard on keeping it that way in the future.”
That future is already starting for some of the team. The crew who are helping put Daniel Ricciardo on track in Abu Dhabi will be there for Sebastian on Friday as he begins the Pirelli test work for 2011.

Abu Dhabi Friday quotes: Red Bull 80hat

Sebastian Vettel - 2nd: "That wasn't bad, the car felt strong early afternoon, although tonight it was a bit different due to the conditions. All in all I was pretty happy, I think there is some lap time still to gain - so we will analyse things now and hopefully pick up some pace tomorrow. As expected, the McLaren was quick today, Ferrari is up there and the Renault isn't looking too bad either so we will see what we can do."
Mark Webber - 4th: "That was a good day; we had an engine change in between the two sessions, which was planned. It was the usual suspects up at the front today and Fernando, Seb and I were pretty much on similar times. The car is close to what we had in Brazil, it's hard to develop a car which is pretty solid already. It feels a bit like we're in Bahrain here in terms of the engineers' office and in the car it feels like a normal weekend, but obviously there's a lot more at stake – that's the only thing that's changed, but you can't try any harder."

Ricciardo gets Red Bull test chance 80hat

Daniel Ricciardo will test for Red Bull in the sessions for young drivers at Abu Dhabi next week.
The Australian, who is their test and reserve driver, also drove for them in last year’s test.
He impressed by setting fastest time on the final day of last year’s test. He will drive for them on both days of the young drivers’ test.
Red Bull also confirmed Mark Webber will not be driving in the separate test on the 19th and 20th.
Sebastian Vettel will drive on both of the days when the teams get their first chance to use Pirelli tyres.

Vettel should help Webber - Red Bull 80hat

Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey says Sebastian Vettel should do all he can to help Mark Webber become world Formula One champion on Sunday if the German finds himself out of contention.
Newey says that having won the constructors' title, Red Bull needs to try to add the drivers' championship at Yas Marina in the final round.
Webber is eight points behind Ferrari's Fernando Alonso in the standings, with Vettel 15 points back while McLaren's Lewis Hamilton has a slight chance of winning the crown.
'We've always said we would leave the drivers to it. It's a drivers' championship, and that's how it should be,' Newey said.
'We would honestly like to win both (titles) if we possibly could, and if we're in a position where we can win the drivers', that is what we must do now.
'Ultimately, if one of the drivers is out of it, then I hope he would be magnanimous enough to help the other.'
Despite the tension between Webber and Vettel this season and accusations Red Bull has favoured Vettel, Newey feels the team has been even-handed with both drivers.
'They have pushed each other hard, which is good, a little bit too hard once or twice, but overall we're very happy,' he said.
Webber put a severe dent in his chances when he crashed out of the Korean Grand Prix and lost his points lead, but rebounded with a second place in Brazil.
However he now must win the race in Abu Dhabi and hope Alonso finishes worse than second to become the first Australian since Alan Jones in 1980 to win a world title.

Red Bull Romaniacs 2010 – Day 3 “Riders keep Pushing” 80hat

The second offroad raceday of the 7th edition of the Red Bull Romaniacs started dry and sunny for all riders — the heavy downpoors of the last days had finally stopped, and so the 165 competitors faced more comfortable temperatures and sunny conditions for most of the day. The Red Bull Romaniacs Rally 2010 will provide scenic, beautiful trails in the heart of the Carpathian Mountains in Harghita, Romania. Participants of all classes enjoy this ultimate battle against themselves, in a race like no other, fraught with danger, pain and endurance. Das Red Bull Romaniacs zählt zu den härtesten Enduro-Rennen auf dem Planeten. Hier die Highlights des ersten Tages. 162 riders from 33 countries, who will come out on top…or alive?

In this post I am going to talk about THE X FACTOR. 80hat

I know, I know, but sometimes you need more than 140 characters to express your feelings. This survival performance by Katie was one of the most over-the-top, self-indulgent displays of hubris that I have ever had the dubious pleasure of witnessing. You practically beg the judges to not send you home, appear to forget the words, then say "sod it" and sit down on the floor. What the fuck? Someone should have given her a dummy to spit out, then the grotesque display would have been complete.

Matt, though. Oh my gosh, he is so lovely that I am unable to stop myself from grinning inanely whenever he is on stage. Sometimes, I get the feeling that both he and Rebecca, who is my second favourite, are far too good for the programme. Then I realise that I am over-thinking this too much.

On a different subject, I love all the photographs in this album, on the Red Bull Racing Facebook fan page. My favourite is the one of Eddie Jordan with the red bull hat on his head. I was pleased that RBR took the constructors' title yesterday. Although I have only been watching since the German Grand Prix, and what a race that was to start with, I feel quite sad that the F1 season is almost over.

To end this insightful entry, I have a question. One which I just cannot answer: what exactly are you meant to do with the apple stickers you get with iPods? Four iPods over the course of four and a half years, and I still don't know. Do you know what to do with them?

Red Bull claims Formula One constructors' championship 80hat

Sebastian Vettel has won the Brazilian Grand Prix to keep the Formula One title race alive and claim Red Bull’s constructors' championship victory at the same time.
The German, who started second on Sunday, took the lead at the first corner and cruised to victory at Interlagos.

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Mark Webber of Red Bull was second, championship leader Fernando Alonso of Ferrari third and Lewis Hamilton of McLaren fourth, which left the Formula One title race remains open until the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Alonso was the only driver who could have won the championship in Brazil, but his third-place finish was not enough. He has an eight-point lead over Webber now and a 15-point advantage over Vettel going into the season closing next weekend.
Meanwhile, the one-two finish at the Interlagos track gave Red Bull its first ever constructors' championship.

Brazil Saturday quotes: Red Bull 80hat

Sebastian Vettel -2nd: "It was a tricky session. It was a tough call in Q3 after the first run on intermediate tyres, the circuit looked dry, but the last sector was very tricky. In the end I think everyone decided to go on to dry tyres. The track was getting better and better, but it was still slippery. At first I thought I had missed pole by only a tenth, but then I saw that there was another digit and Nico had a second lead over us! Congratulations to him, it's very easy to make a mistake in these conditions. We were targeting for pole today, but it could have been worse in the difficult conditions, so I'm happy to start from second."
Mark Webber - 3rd: "I enjoyed that, it was a challenging session for all of us. It's easy to get things wrong in those conditions and not qualify, so I'm very happy to get that position near the front. It was really tricky to get clean laps in Q3, but I did my best. It was pretty close between Sebastian and I and we're both up there. It was a good team performance today and both Seb and I have laid good foundations for the Constructors' Championship, so there are a lot of positives from today. We're in a good position for tomorrow. Nico (Hulkenberg) got his car working very well, he was very confident and got the most out of it when it mattered, so congratulations to him for pole, it was like he was driving on a different track!"
Christian Horner: "It was a very, very strong team performance today from both drivers to finish second and third on the grid, ahead of our main components. It was quite an amazing couple of laps from Nico Hulkenberg, so congratulations to him and Williams. It sets up an interesting race for tomorrow."
(Renault) Fabrice Lom: "Firstly I would like to say I'm very happy we have extended Renault's partnership with Red Bull Racing for another two years - we have developed a great relationship with them over the last four years. To come back to today, it was a messy qualifying, but the car proved to be good in the wet as it was yesterday in the dry. We have a very good package and all our main contenders are behind us for tomorrow's race. We have to congratulate Hulkenberg and Williams for their incredible pole position lap – so well done to them."

Red Bull hat 2009 das Investment erhöht 80hat

Dietrich Mateschitz zieht aus der Formel 1 hauptsächlich den Marketingwert

Seit 2005 besitzt Red Bull ein eigenes Team und hat sich seither stetig verbessert. 2010 ist bisher die erfolgreichste Saison und zum krönenden Abschluss fehlen nur noch die beiden WM-Titel. Um dieses Ziel zu erreichen, hat das Team viel unternommen. Vor allem wurde mehr Geld im Vergleich zum Vorjahr investiert. Bekanntlich beginnt die Entwicklung eines neuen Boliden bereits im Frühjahr der Vorsaison.

Bis zum 31. Dezember 2009 hat Red Bull um 29,5 Prozent mehr Geld ausgegeben und kam so auf 161 Millionen Pfund (umgerechnet rund 185 Millionen Euro) Budget. Unter dem Strich hatte der Rennstall einen Gewinn vor Steuern von vier Millionen Pfund (umgerechnet rund 4,6 Millionen Euro). Der größte Kostenfaktor belief sich auf 57,2 Millionen Pfund (umgerechnet rund 65,7 Millionen Euro), der für Forschung und Entwicklung aufgebraucht wurde. Diese Ausgaben haben sich Jahr für Jahr gesteigert.

Webber: Vettel is Red Bull's favourite 80hat

Mark Webber has suggested that Red Bull Racing is 'emotionally behind' his team-mate Sebastian Vettel going into the final two races of the world championship battle.
The issue of team favouritism has been a hot topic at Red Bull this year, following Webber and Vettel's collision as they fought for the lead of the Turkish Grand Prix, and the incident where Webber had to hand his upgraded front wing to Vettel before Silverstone qualifying after the German's example failed.
Webber and Vettel arrive in Brazil 11 and 25 points behind championship leader Fernando Alonso, but with the team adamant that it will continue to support both men's title bids.
When asked if he felt he was getting equal support, Webber replied: "technically everything's been very, very good" but when pressed on whether he felt he had the same level of emotional backing as Vettel, he said: "It's obvious isn't it?"
Webber added: "Of course when young, new chargers come onto the block, that's where the emotion is. That's the way it is.
"Which is absolutely fine, because I've had a great opportunity and a great car to go and do some great things this year, and I have done that.
"I've got favourites in life. I've got people I like to be with. That's how it is. It's human nature."
While the team has remained adamant that it will not impose any form of team orders, Webber said there was the potential to let both championships slip away if Red Bull did not handle the final races correctly.
"I'm a driver, and I think that of course you increase your risk of that happening if you race each other and potentially take each other out, or race as hard as you want all the way to the end then you might not get certain championships," he said.
"But it's certainly not my decision and what I think is really all that important to how we will probably go about it. You'd need to ask the people who run the team."
He was not sure how he would feel about supporting Vettel if the points positions were reversed.
"It's a tough question and a tough situation to know how you would do things," Webber admitted.
"There's a lot of really good people at this team and there's no getting away from the fact that we would love to win some championships this year.
"We're at different parts of our career as well, so it's not as easy as some might imagine. I'd need to think a lot further about that.
"For different reasons here and there, obviously Seb's never led the championship this year and I have, so whatever happens in all the races we've had, we've now got two races to go and that's what the scoreboard says.
"Whatever the best way we go about handling trying to win the championship, we'll see on the Monday after Abu Dhabi if it was the right way."
He insisted he could still be satisfied with his season even if he ultimately missed out on the title despite leading the standings for much of the year.
"If you had asked me at the start of the year, I have a chance of winning the championship, I've won four races, I've had nine podiums, it's been a sensational year for me," Webber said.
"I can still put the icing on the cake and I'd love to be able to do that. If we don't, then the sun still comes up on Monday morning."
Webber also dismissed Gerhard Berger's allegation that he had allowed his car to run back across the road during his Korean Grand Prix crash because he had been keen to try and eliminate one of his title rivals. The spinning Red Bull collected Nico Rosberg's Mercedes in the incident.
"I know Gerhard's had some pretty nasty accidents in his time and so have I - Le Mans, Valencia..." said Webber.
"I'd never put myself or anyone else in any more danger than I need to. I've lost control of the car and [Berger's saying] all of a sudden I've regained control of the car and try and take people out... I'm a genius, aren't I?"
When asked if he was surprised that Berger's comments came on the Red Bull-owned Servus TV station, Webber replied: "absolutely".

How Alonso and Red Bull can win the titles 80hat

With five drivers still mathematically able to win the championship, Fernando Alonso needs more than just a good result to wrap it up this weekend – he needs the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton to hit trouble.

The only way Alonso can wrap up the title this weekend is by finishing on the podium. After that, it depends where his rivals finish.
With so many different permutations available, remember to keep an eye on the F1 Fanatic Championship Calculator during the race to work out how the current running order might affect the championship.
Obviously the best scenario for Alonso would be a win. As well as being the maximum possible score, it would ensure that if he ended up level on points with another driver he would definitely come out ahead, because no-one else will be able to win more races than him.
If he wins, the only driver who could then beat him to the title is Mark Webber, who would need to finish at least fourth to stay in the championship.
Jenson Button’s situation is dire. Even if he wins the race, his championship is over if Alonso finishes sixth or higher.
Use the F1 Fanatic Championship Calculator to work out the championship positions during the race.

Constructors’ championship

All three teams are still in the hunt for the constructors’ championship. Red Bull will claim the title this weekend if they out-score McLaren by 17 points and lose no more than eight to Ferrari.
If Red Bull finish one-two they are guaranteed to win the title regardless of where the others finish. But although they’ve qualified in those positions eight times this year, they’ve only finished one-two on three occasions.
But on recent performance McLaren are more likely to be worried about losing second place to Ferrari than pinching the title off Red Bull in the dying stages of the season.

Redbull SOUNDCLASH: Wale x Tokyo Police Club 80hat

All photos provided by Redbull.
This was an eventful weekend in DC — as typical understatements go.  It was Halloween weekend so there was the typical ghoulish buzz with no shortage of costumed parties and events around the District. On top of that, I heard rumors that some Americans had gathered on the National Mall on Saturday to mock media sensationalism, or to climb trees, or something apolitical like that.  Then people who are much better human beings than me ran the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday – presumably after partying on Saturday night.  All this intensity subsequently made the Metro freak out.  Fun times!
Perhaps lost in all the madness this weekend was Red Bull Soundclash on Saturday night.  Red Bull characterizes the event as ”a unique live musical experience that brings two bands with different sounds, styles, and influences together under one roof to compete for the devotion of a room full of fans.”  For the DC edition, local hero Wale was pitted against the indie up-and-comers Tokyo Police Club – who ironically hail from Canada.  In short, Wale was playing an outdoor show at night in front of the Capitol building.  Enough said.  I’m a homer for homegrown talent playing in my hometown.
Soundclash is billed as a competition between two divergent musical styles.  In this case, hip hop vs. rock.  Or America vs. the World.  Or awesome vs. whatever.  Penn Ave was converted into a mini-stadium with a secure perimeter, two stages on opposite ends, bleachers, bright lights, and a large pit in the middle for the crowd to witness these two national acts battle it out for fabricated supremacy.  It was an impressive production that required an impressive budget.  Cameras were swinging from cranes that were probably engineered by Jesus and operated by robots.  Michael Bay would’ve had a boner – and that’s not a meager accomplishment.
Throughout the night, the bands were ordered by some Hot 99.5 personality to perform various musical tasks like covering a song (Tom Petty’s “American Girl”) to playing versions of their own songs to the tune of different musical genres (country, punk, reggae) with the final round being a free-for-all.  Between each round the crowd was asked to cheer for their favorite and the performer who registered loudest on the Red Bull sound-o-meter won that round and the points that came with it.
Sounds like a slam dunk for the hometown MC, right?  Not so fast, Dale Earnhardt.  Despite my unabashed support and drunken roars for Wale, those scrappy kids from Ontario somehow managed to eek out a 4-3 ‘victory’ over Wale – who by my biased opinion DOMINATED every aspect of the show.  So much for home-field advantage.  After Tokyo Police Club was declared the winner, Wale took over and was joined on stage by another local MC, Tabi Bonney, to close out the show with an epic version of “No Hands”.
Despite this event being more of a showcase for musical talent and camaraderie, I was pissed Wale didn’t win and am still bitter as I am writing this.  But the adults would gladly remind me that there really are no losers – and there really weren’t any at Soundclash DC on Saturday.





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Red Bulls offer blueprint for renovations 80hat

The success of the Red Bulls has not been lost on those around the league, who see an excellent model of hiring personnel that understand tThe success of the Red Bulls has not been lost on those around the league, who see an excellent model of hiring personnel that understand the game making soccer decisions for their franchise.

With the start of the playoffs against the San Jose Earthquakes, the Red Bulls are in the midst of an audacious transformation, having increased their victory total by 10 games over 2009. The architect of that turnaround — Erik Soler, the team’s Norwegian sporting director and general manager — likes to stay close to the action, taking a seat on the team’s bench during games. When he took control of the team, Soler, a former professional player (he played 39 times for Norway), club owner (IK Start) and agent, was confronted with a litany of issues, foremost among them the perception throughout M.L.S. that team management by foreigners was a disaster waiting to happen.

“When I got here, they looked like any club that had been through a terrible season; they had a losing hat on their head and were getting accustomed to losing,” Soler, 50, said during a recent interview at Red Bull Arena. “Not only on the sporting side. It was the same virus. How do you sell a terrible team?”

Hired by Dietmar Beiersdorfer, who oversees Red Bull’s teams and academies in Europe, Africa, South America and the United States, Soler was savvy enough to delegate responsibility for the M.L.S. draft to the already installed coaching and scouting staff. The result: solid picks that included the current starters Tim Ream and Tony Tchani.

“Erik went to the combine and agreed with our assessment of players,” the team’s assistant coach, Richie Williams, said. “This is a group effort, but the bottom line is Erik is the guy in charge who is putting the right people in place.”

What was most significant about the draft, and an indication of a subtle but important shift in management philosophy, was that Soler and the Red Bulls made their selections only a short time after hiring a coach, the Swede Hans Backe (who was not at the draft and did not see the picks until the start of training camp). Putting a team together is a collaborative effort, but like many top European clubs and the best operations in North American sports, Red Bull wanted to install a leader with a distinct vision — since players and coaches come and go.

“Some other clubs have hired technical directors after their head coaches, and the reporting lines are blurred about who ultimately is in charge,” Nelson Rodriguez, an M.L.S. vice president, said. “I think what Red Bull has done is very smart, candidly, and I think has been something lacking for a long time. They adopted a European model. Their stadium has a European feel to it. They’ve hired experienced pros to manage the day-to-day soccer in Erik and Coach Backe.”