Red Bull RB5
Encyclopedia
The Red Bull RB5 is a Formula One
racing car designed by the Red Bull Racing
team for the 2009 Formula One season
, and was driven by Sebastian Vettel
, who drove for Red Bull's sister team Toro Rosso
in the 2008 season
, and Mark Webber
. The car was launched on 9 February 2009 at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain
.
The car gave the team its first pole position, first win and first ever 1-2 finish at the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix
. Over the course of the season the car turned out to be competitive as it won 6 out of 17 races, with Vettel winning four races and Webber winning two. As a result the team finished 2nd in the constructors' championship standings behind Brawn GP
and Vettel finished second in the drivers' standings behind Jenson Button
.
New rules in place for the 2009 season required cars to have narrower and higher rear wings and wider and lower front wings, designed to reduce air disturbance to following cars and hence make overtaking easier. Slick tyres were re-introduced into Formula One, after being absent since 1998
. This was expected to increase the RB5's tyre grip by about 20%.
There was a possibility that the RB5 could feature a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), which would allow energy which would otherwise be wasted while braking to be re-used in set amounts per lap, via a boost button on the driver's steering wheel. This was the result of new rules for the 2009 season. Red Bull originally attempted to develop their own system, but a factory fire resulting from overheated batteries stalled progress. In January 2009 Red Bull announced that they would use an identical KERS system to the Renault
team, in an extension of the existing customer engine deal between the teams. However the RB5 never did race with KERS.
, which achieved a single podium in 2008. Vettel was optimistic when questioned about the car's potential:
Sebastian Vettel, who makes it a habit to name his racing cars, named his Red Bull RB5 'Kate' and after crashing it at Melbourne's Albert Park, he named his new chassis 'Kate's Dirty Sister'.
Initial tests of the RB5 at Jerez were halted when high gearbox oil temperatures were detected. When the issue was resolved the RB5 was the quickest 2009 specification car at Jerez, where Vettel was faster than the equivalent Williams, McLaren and Renault cars. Webber returned to the cockpit after breaking his leg while cycling in November 2008; he completed 83 laps in the RB5, around the distance of a Grand Prix, and reported no problems whilst lapping faster than Vettel the previous day.
Driver failed to finish, but was classified as they had completed >90% of the race distance.
Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance completed.
.
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 designed by the 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...
team for the 2009 Formula One season
2009 Formula One season
The 2009 Formula One season was the 60th FIA Formula One World Championship season. The season took place over 17 rounds, and started with the on 29 March 2009. It ended on 1 November 2009 with the inaugural ....
, and was driven 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 ....
, who drove for Red Bull's sister team 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...
in the 2008 season
2008 Formula One season
The 2008 Formula One season was the 59th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It began on 16 March and ended on 2 November with eighteen Grand Prix races....
, and 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...
. The car was launched on 9 February 2009 at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
The car gave the team its first pole position, first win and first ever 1-2 finish at the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix
2009 Chinese Grand Prix
The 2009 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on April 19, 2009 at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It was the third race of the 2009 Formula One season, a change from previous years, when it took place towards the end of the season.Sebastian...
. Over the course of the season the car turned out to be competitive as it won 6 out of 17 races, with Vettel winning four races and Webber winning two. As a result the team finished 2nd in the constructors' championship standings behind Brawn GP
Brawn GP
Brawn GP Formula One Team, the trading name of Brawn GP Limited, was a Formula One motor racing team and constructor, created by a management buyout of Honda Racing F1 Team. It only competed in the 2009 Formula One World Championship, with drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. The team...
and Vettel finished second in the drivers' standings behind Jenson Button
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...
.
Technical specifications
1998 Formula One season
The 1998 Formula One season was the 49th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 8, 1998, and ended on November 1 after sixteen races.-Season summary:...
. This was expected to increase the RB5's tyre grip by about 20%.
There was a possibility that the RB5 could feature a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), which would allow energy which would otherwise be wasted while braking to be re-used in set amounts per lap, via a boost button on the driver's steering wheel. This was the result of new rules for the 2009 season. Red Bull originally attempted to develop their own system, but a factory fire resulting from overheated batteries stalled progress. In January 2009 Red Bull announced that they would use an identical KERS system to 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...
team, in an extension of the existing customer engine deal between the teams. However the RB5 never did race with KERS.
Launch
The RB5 was launched later than most of its rivals, to allow a longer development time at the expense of a shorter testing time. Red Bull expected the RB5 to be more competitive than its predecessor, the RB4Red Bull RB4
The Red Bull RB4 is a Formula One racing car with which the Red Bull Racing team competed in the 2008 Formula One season.-Launch:The RB4 is the team's second Adrian Newey-designed car; this car has had the help of Geoff Willis whom the team had recruited from Honda in 2007...
, which achieved a single podium in 2008. Vettel was optimistic when questioned about the car's potential:
Sebastian Vettel, who makes it a habit to name his racing cars, named his Red Bull RB5 'Kate' and after crashing it at Melbourne's Albert Park, he named his new chassis 'Kate's Dirty Sister'.
Testing
Complete Formula One results
(results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)| Year | Entrant | 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... RS27 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 2009 Australian Grand Prix The 2009 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 March 2009 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race, contested over 58 laps, was won by Jenson Button for the Brawn GP team after... |
MAL 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix The 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on April 5, 2009 at the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Malaysia. It was the second race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race was due to be contested over 56 laps, but due to torrential rain, the race was stopped after... |
CHN 2009 Chinese Grand Prix The 2009 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on April 19, 2009 at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It was the third race of the 2009 Formula One season, a change from previous years, when it took place towards the end of the season.Sebastian... |
BHR 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix The 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on April 26, 2009, at the Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the sixth Bahrain Grand Prix and fourth race of the 2009 Formula One season.... |
ESP 2009 Spanish Grand Prix The 2009 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 10, 2009 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain. It was the fifth race of the 2009 Formula One season.... |
MON 2009 Monaco Grand Prix The 2009 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held on the 24 May, 2009 at the Circuit de Monaco, in Monaco. The race, which was contested over 78 laps, was the sixth round of the 2009 Formula One season... |
TUR 2009 Turkish Grand Prix The 2009 Turkish Grand Prix was the seventh race of the 2009 Formula One season. It was held on June 7, 2009 at Istanbul Park, Istanbul, Turkey.Felipe Massa won the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix for Ferrari, in addition to his wins at Istanbul Park in 2006 and 2007... |
GBR 2009 British Grand Prix The 2009 Santander British Grand Prix was the eighth race of the 2009 Formula One season. It was held on 21 June 2009 at Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England. This was scheduled to be the last British Grand Prix to be held at Silverstone, before the event moved to Donington Park for the... |
GER 2009 German Grand Prix The 2009 German Grand Prix was the ninth race of the 2009 Formula One season. It was held on July 12, 2009 at the Nürburgring in Nürburg, Germany; the earliest German Grand Prix on the calendar, since 1926.... |
HUN 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix The 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 26, 2009 at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, north of Budapest, Hungary. It was the tenth race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race, contested over 70 laps, was won by world champion Lewis Hamilton for McLaren-Mercedes,... |
EUR 2009 European Grand Prix The 2009 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on August 23, 2009 at the Valencia Street Circuit in Valencia, Spain. It was the 11th race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race was contested over 57 laps, an overall race distance of 303.9 km... |
BEL 2009 Belgian Grand Prix The 2009 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on August 30, 2009 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps near the town of Spa, Belgium. It was the 12th race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race was contested over 44 laps, with an overall race distance of 308.2 km... |
ITA 2009 Italian Grand Prix The 2009 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 13, 2009 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, Italy. It was the 13th race of the 2009 Formula One season. It was contested over 53 laps.The race was won by Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello... |
SIN 2009 Singapore Grand Prix The 2009 Singapore Grand Prix was the fourteenth race of the 2009 Formula One season. It was the second Singapore Grand Prix to be part of a Formula One Championship and the tenth Singapore Grand Prix overall. It was also the second Formula One race to be held at night... |
JPN 2009 Japanese Grand Prix The 2009 Japanese Grand Prix was the fifteenth round of the 2009 Formula One season... |
BRA 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix The 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race which was held on October 18, 2009 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil. It was the sixteenth race of the 2009 Formula One season... |
ABU 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix The 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the seventeenth and last race of the 2009 Formula One season. It took place on November 1, 2009 at the 3.45-mile Hermann Tilke-designed Yas Marina Circuit. It was the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and also the first ever day-night Grand Prix... |
153.5 | 2nd | |||
| 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... |
12 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 9 | Ret | Ret | 17 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| 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 .... |
13 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 4 | Ret | 3 | 1 | 2 | Ret | Ret | 3 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
Driver failed to finish, but was classified as they had completed >90% of the race distance.
Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance completed.
Newey gift car
In July 2010, Red Bull gifted designer Adrian Newey a complete RB5 car as a thank you gift for turning Red Bull into a title-challenging team. Newey first drove the car at the hill at the Goodwood Festival of SpeedGoodwood Festival of Speed
The Goodwood Festival of Speed, commonly abbreviated as FoS and referred within the United Kingdom as simply the Festival of Speed, is an annual hill climb featuring historic motor racing vehicles that is held in the grounds of Goodwood House, West Sussex, England.Typically held in late June or...
.