The team that clinched the previous two Formula 1 World Championships turned the initially cumbersome Red Bull RB8 into a fantastic race-winning machine, and collected a third consecutive title in 2012.
Red Bull Racing started the season as hot favourites, but it quickly became evident that Adrian Newey's lastest creation was really suffering from the ban put in place by the FIA on the infamous exhaust-blown diffusers for this year.
However, like Ferrari, Red Bull Racing worked day and night to solve the problem, and it turned the Renault-powered RB8 into a race leader despite being relatively slow on the staightways.
The team, led by Christian Horner, finished the year with a total of 460 points, 60 more than second place Ferrari.
Sebastian Vettel
World Champion with 281 points
Best place in qualifications: 1st (6 poles)
Best race result: 1st (5 wins)
Retired once
Mark Webber
6th in the Driver's Championship with 179 points
Best place in qualifications: 1st (2 poles, Monaco and Korea)
Best race result: 1st (3 wins, Monaco and Great Britain)
Retired twice (2 consecutive races, Abu Dhabi and USA)
The ban on exhaust-blown diffusers robbed RB8 of a predecessor's dominance. In fact, Vettel scored only one victory in the first 13 races of the season. The German had to wait until the fourth round in Bahrain to score his first pole position, and race victory of the season.
Meanwhile, Adrian Newey continued to push technical boundaries, drawing controversy over floor holes, engine maps, flexible nose cones, and more. Red Bull's season was also marred by a series of very costly alternator failures.
Vettel then managed to score four consecutive victories in Singapore, Japan, Korea, and India. He controled the latter part of the season to beat arch rival Fernando Alonso in treacherous conditions in Brazil; a race that saw Vettel being spun around during the opening lap of the race.
In just 101 Grands Prix and six F1 seasons, Vettel has clinched 26 wins, 36 poles and scored 1,054 points.
His teammate, Australian Mark Webber, bounced back from disappointments in 2011, fitter, more motivated, and much more consistent.
Victories in Monaco and Silverstone made him Red Bull Racing's leading title contender at the season's midway point, but second half was not nearly as strong and he ended the year sixth in the standings. It must be noted that Webber's car was often hit by technical issues, especially failures of the KERS during races.
Red Bull Racing started the season as hot favourites, but it quickly became evident that Adrian Newey's lastest creation was really suffering from the ban put in place by the FIA on the infamous exhaust-blown diffusers for this year.
However, like Ferrari, Red Bull Racing worked day and night to solve the problem, and it turned the Renault-powered RB8 into a race leader despite being relatively slow on the staightways.
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| Sebastian Vettel, triple world champion with Red Bull. (Photo: WRi2) |
The team, led by Christian Horner, finished the year with a total of 460 points, 60 more than second place Ferrari.
Sebastian Vettel
World Champion with 281 points
Best place in qualifications: 1st (6 poles)
Best race result: 1st (5 wins)
Retired once
Mark Webber
6th in the Driver's Championship with 179 points
Best place in qualifications: 1st (2 poles, Monaco and Korea)
Best race result: 1st (3 wins, Monaco and Great Britain)
Retired twice (2 consecutive races, Abu Dhabi and USA)
The ban on exhaust-blown diffusers robbed RB8 of a predecessor's dominance. In fact, Vettel scored only one victory in the first 13 races of the season. The German had to wait until the fourth round in Bahrain to score his first pole position, and race victory of the season.
 |
| Photo: WRi2 |
Meanwhile, Adrian Newey continued to push technical boundaries, drawing controversy over floor holes, engine maps, flexible nose cones, and more. Red Bull's season was also marred by a series of very costly alternator failures.
Vettel then managed to score four consecutive victories in Singapore, Japan, Korea, and India. He controled the latter part of the season to beat arch rival Fernando Alonso in treacherous conditions in Brazil; a race that saw Vettel being spun around during the opening lap of the race.
In just 101 Grands Prix and six F1 seasons, Vettel has clinched 26 wins, 36 poles and scored 1,054 points.
His teammate, Australian Mark Webber, bounced back from disappointments in 2011, fitter, more motivated, and much more consistent.
Victories in Monaco and Silverstone made him Red Bull Racing's leading title contender at the season's midway point, but second half was not nearly as strong and he ended the year sixth in the standings. It must be noted that Webber's car was often hit by technical issues, especially failures of the KERS during races.
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| Mark Webber, Red Bull RB8. (Photo: Red Bull Racing) |