Red Bull RB3
Encyclopedia
The Red Bull Racing RB3 is a Formula One
racing car produced by Red Bull Racing
for the 2007 season
. It was the team's first Adrian Newey
-designed car and used Renault
RS27 engines, after the team's contract with Ferrari
was transferred to the Toro Rosso team.
Controversy surrounded the Red Bull and Toro Rosso teams during the 2007 launch season as a row over customer cars erupted. Both Williams
and Spyker
claimed that the cars of the two teams were identical, having been designed by Red Bull Technology
, a third-party subsidiary of the Red Bull
parent company. Thus, the teams themselves did not design their respective cars themselves, which Williams and Spyker believed was a breach of F1's Concorde Agreement
. The FIA
however declared that the cars were legal for 2007. Gerhard Berger
, Christian Horner
and other Toro Rosso
and Red Bull Racing
staff have also stated that they had their legal representatives confirm that the cars they were running were legal and that the operations they had set-up (two teams running the same chassis, designed by Red Bull Technology) were legal.
and David Coulthard
, is seen to have point-scoring pace, high-lighted by Webber's series of top-ten qualifying positions and Coulthard running fastest in the pre-race Barcelona testing. The design is distinctly Adrian Newey
, bearing a resemblance to past cars such as the 2005 McLaren MP4-20. However, like the McLaren, poor reliability and mechanical problems have hampered the drivers on numerous occasions. Problems included things as trivial as faulty brake pedals and notoriously jamming fuel-flaps. However the most pressing reliability issue was the introduction of a seamless-shift gearbox to the car, which resulted in numerous race retirements for both Mark Webber and David Coulthard, such as at the Monaco and Canadian Grands Prix respectively.
Comments made throughout the season stated clearly that the car had much potential, despite David Coulthard's distaste of the word. Towards the middle of the season, after being frustrated by continuous retirements at the expense of championship points, team principal Christian Horner
put into place a strict and thorough method to deal with and eradicate any mechanical unreliability , which along with the appointment of Geoff Willis (formerly of the Williams and BAR/Honda teams), was expected to provide better results in the 2008 season.
The car's best result was in the hands of Mark Webber, when he scored a podium in changeable conditions at the 2007 European Grand Prix
. It scored points on only two other occasions for Webber, 7th in both the United States
and Belgian
Grand Prix, despite his consistent fast qualifying, starting in the top 11 on eleven occasions. Coulthard was more successful, scoring points at four races, including a 4th place at the Japanese Grand Prix
, a race at which Mark Webber was running in second before he was hit from behind by Sebastian Vettel
, driving Red Bull's sister Toro Rosso
car, under the safety car.
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
racing car produced by Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...
for the 2007 season
2007 Formula One season
The 2007 Formula One season was the 58th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship, which began on 18 March and ended on 21 October after seventeen events. The Drivers' Championship was won by Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen by one point at the...
. It was the team's first Adrian Newey
Adrian Newey
Adrian Newey is a notable Formula One engineer and widely regarded one of the great engineers in the sport's history. He is the only designer to have won Constructors Championships with three different Formula One teams...
-designed car and used Renault
Renault F1
Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...
RS27 engines, after the team's contract with Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
was transferred to the Toro Rosso team.
Controversy
WilliamsF1
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...
and Spyker
Spyker F1
Spyker F1 Team was a Formula One team that competed in the 2007 Formula One World Championship, and was created by Spyker Cars after their buyout of the short-lived Midland F1 team...
claimed that the cars of the two teams were identical, having been designed by Red Bull Technology
Red Bull Technology
Red Bull Technology is a subsidiary of energy drink company Red Bull relating to motor racing. It was set up by Red Bull to design, engineer and build the chassis for its Formula One racing team, Red Bull Racing....
, a third-party subsidiary of the Red Bull
Red Bull
Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...
parent company. Thus, the teams themselves did not design their respective cars themselves, which Williams and Spyker believed was a breach of F1's Concorde Agreement
Concorde Agreement
The Concorde Agreement is a contract between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , the Formula One teams and the Formula One Administration which dictates the terms by which the teams compete in races and take their share of the television revenues and prize money...
. The FIA
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
however declared that the cars were legal for 2007. Gerhard Berger
Gerhard Berger
Gerhard Berger, is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver, who previously owned 50% of the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One team until he sold his share back to energy drink owner Dietrich Mateschitz in November 2008....
, Christian Horner
Christian Horner
Christian Horner is the team manager of the Red Bull Racing Formula One team, a position he has held since 2005...
and other Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso , also known simply as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, is an Italian Formula One racing team...
and Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the...
staff have also stated that they had their legal representatives confirm that the cars they were running were legal and that the operations they had set-up (two teams running the same chassis, designed by Red Bull Technology) were legal.
Performance
The car, in the hands of both Mark WebberMark Webber
Mark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career...
and David Coulthard
David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons...
, is seen to have point-scoring pace, high-lighted by Webber's series of top-ten qualifying positions and Coulthard running fastest in the pre-race Barcelona testing. The design is distinctly Adrian Newey
Adrian Newey
Adrian Newey is a notable Formula One engineer and widely regarded one of the great engineers in the sport's history. He is the only designer to have won Constructors Championships with three different Formula One teams...
, bearing a resemblance to past cars such as the 2005 McLaren MP4-20. However, like the McLaren, poor reliability and mechanical problems have hampered the drivers on numerous occasions. Problems included things as trivial as faulty brake pedals and notoriously jamming fuel-flaps. However the most pressing reliability issue was the introduction of a seamless-shift gearbox to the car, which resulted in numerous race retirements for both Mark Webber and David Coulthard, such as at the Monaco and Canadian Grands Prix respectively.
Comments made throughout the season stated clearly that the car had much potential, despite David Coulthard's distaste of the word. Towards the middle of the season, after being frustrated by continuous retirements at the expense of championship points, team principal Christian Horner
Christian Horner
Christian Horner is the team manager of the Red Bull Racing Formula One team, a position he has held since 2005...
put into place a strict and thorough method to deal with and eradicate any mechanical unreliability , which along with the appointment of Geoff Willis (formerly of the Williams and BAR/Honda teams), was expected to provide better results in the 2008 season.
The car's best result was in the hands of Mark Webber, when he scored a podium in changeable conditions at the 2007 European Grand Prix
2007 European Grand Prix
The 2007 European Grand Prix was the tenth race of the 2007 Formula One season. It was held from 20 to July 22 at the Nürburgring....
. It scored points on only two other occasions for Webber, 7th in both the United States
2007 United States Grand Prix
The 2007 United States Grand Prix was the seventh race of the 2007 Formula One season. It was also the last Formula 1 race held in the United States. It was held on 15–17 June at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway...
and Belgian
2007 Belgian Grand Prix
The 2007 Belgian Grand Prix was the fourteenth race of the 2007 Formula One season, returning to the F1 calendar after a year's absence. It was held on 16 September at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa, Belgium....
Grand Prix, despite his consistent fast qualifying, starting in the top 11 on eleven occasions. Coulthard was more successful, scoring points at four races, including a 4th place at the Japanese Grand Prix
2007 Japanese Grand Prix
The 2007 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 30 September, 2007 at the Fuji Speedway, Oyama, Shizuoka. The race, contested over 67 laps, was the fifteenth round of the 2007 Formula One season. It was held at the recently revised track in very heavy rain and misty conditions...
, a race at which Mark Webber was running in second before he was hit from behind by Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won the championship in and ....
, driving Red Bull's sister Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Scuderia Toro Rosso , also known simply as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, is an Italian Formula One racing team...
car, under the safety car.
Complete Formula One results
(results in bold indicate pole position)| Year | Team | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing is a Formula One racing team based in Milton Keynes, England which currently holds an Austrian licence. It is, along with Scuderia Toro Rosso, one of two teams owned by beverage company Red Bull GmbH. The team have won two Constructors' Championship titles, in and , becoming the... |
Renault Renault F1 Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking... V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
AUS 2007 Australian Grand Prix The 2007 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 18 March 2007 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2007 Formula One season. The race, contested over 58 laps, was won by Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team after... |
MAL 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix The IX Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on 8 April 2007 at the Sepang International Circuit and the second race of the 2007 Formula One season. Reigning world champion Fernando Alonso won the race from second on the grid, with McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton... |
BHR 2007 Bahrain Grand Prix The 2007 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix is a Formula One motor race and is the third round of the 2007 Formula One season. It took place on the weekend of the 13–15 April at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain.... |
ESP 2007 Spanish Grand Prix The 2007 Gran Premio de España Telefónica was a Formula One motor race, fourth round of the 2007 Formula One season, won by Felipe Massa. It was held on the weekend of 11–13 May at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain.-Background:... |
MON 2007 Monaco Grand Prix The 2007 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race and was the fifth round of the 2007 Formula One season. It took place from 24–27 May at the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo. The race itself commenced at 14:00 CET , Sunday, May 27, and lasted about 1 hour and 40 minutes... |
CAN 2007 Canadian Grand Prix The 2007 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 10 June 2007, at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. It was the sixth race of the 2007 Formula One season... |
USA 2007 United States Grand Prix The 2007 United States Grand Prix was the seventh race of the 2007 Formula One season. It was also the last Formula 1 race held in the United States. It was held on 15–17 June at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway... |
FRA 2007 French Grand Prix The 2007 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 1, 2007 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours, France. It was the eighth race of the 2007 Formula One season. The race, contested over 70 laps, was won by Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team after starting from... |
GBR 2007 British Grand Prix The 2007 British Grand Prix was the ninth race of the 2007 Formula One season. It was held from July 6 to July 8 at the Silverstone Circuit. The race was won by Kimi Räikkönen after overtaking pole position driver Lewis Hamilton during the first round of pit stops... |
EUR 2007 European Grand Prix The 2007 European Grand Prix was the tenth race of the 2007 Formula One season. It was held from 20 to July 22 at the Nürburgring.... |
HUN 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix The 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix was the eleventh race of the 2007 Formula One season, held between 3 to 5 August at the Hungaroring racing track in Budapest... |
TUR 2007 Turkish Grand Prix The 2007 Turkish Grand Prix was the twelfth race of the 2007 Formula One season. Won by Felipe Massa, it was held from 24 to August 26 at the Istanbul Park in Istanbul. It was the third time a Formula One race had been held here... |
ITA 2007 Italian Grand Prix The 2007 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held from 7 to 9 September 2007 at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy. It was the thirteenth race of the 2007 Formula One season.... |
BEL 2007 Belgian Grand Prix The 2007 Belgian Grand Prix was the fourteenth race of the 2007 Formula One season, returning to the F1 calendar after a year's absence. It was held on 16 September at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa, Belgium.... |
JPN 2007 Japanese Grand Prix The 2007 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 30 September, 2007 at the Fuji Speedway, Oyama, Shizuoka. The race, contested over 67 laps, was the fifteenth round of the 2007 Formula One season. It was held at the recently revised track in very heavy rain and misty conditions... |
CHN 2007 Chinese Grand Prix The 2007 Chinese Grand Prix was the sixteenth race of the 2007 Formula One season. It was held on 5–7 October at Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, China. The race was won by Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen with Fernando Alonso finishing second and Felipe Massa finishing third... |
BRA 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix The 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix was the seventeenth and last race of the 2007 Formula One season. It was held from 19 to October 21 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo. The Championship was decided in the race, which was won by Kimi Räikkönen... |
24 | 5th | |||
| Mark Webber Mark Webber Mark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career... |
13 | 10 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 9 | 7 | 12 | Ret | 3 | 9 | Ret | 9 | 7 | Ret | 10 | Ret | ||||||
| David Coulthard David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons... |
Ret | Ret | Ret | 5 | 14 | Ret | Ret | 13 | 11 | 5 | 11 | 10 | Ret | Ret | 4 | 8 | 9 |