F1 2012 team-by-team guide
Red Bull
• redbullracing.com Car RB8 Engine Renault
• Debut Australia 2005 Grands prix 126 Wins 27 Poles 38 Constructors' titles 2 Drivers' titles 2 Based M Keynes Team principal Christian Horner Technical director Adrian Newey
Team motto One champion, one outcome, one hell of a party.
Fighting form The Milton Keynes heavyweights are steering clear of bravado but clearly confident after cleaning up last season. They claim to have had their best car build and pre-season preparation ever but could stumble over the loss of the exhaust-blown diffuser that gave them the edge in 2011.
Pedigree or mongrel? They've won the past two championships but they aren't a pure breed, with Stewart Grand Prix and Jaguar Racing both in their lineage pre-2005. Adrian Newey recently told Autosport: "We're still a relatively young team. We still occasionally make mistakes, which hopefully is like the swan that looks graceful on top but with a lot of action going on underneath." OK, he's talking about a bird, not a dog. But you get the idea.
Best forgotten Sebastian Vettel blubbing like a toddler in the pits in 2007 while racing for sister outfit, Toro Rosso. He had worked his way up to third in the drenched Japanese GP and was set to take his and the team's first podium finish. Then he wiped out himself and the second-placed driver – his future team-mate Mark Webber, who said: "It's kids … they fuck it all up."
Bragging about Not since Ross Brawn and Jean Todt's heyday at Ferrari in the early noughties has Formula One seen as strong a technical/team boss pairing as Newey and Christian Horner.
Puppet master Mark Webber can tell you. His cherubic rival – recently described by Sir Stirling Moss as a "modern-day Fangio" – wields more power than Woman B in Max Mosley's hotel room.
They predict "You can never take anything for granted," Horner said. "We certainly don't underestimate the quality of our opponents but we're going into 2012 with a lot of determination to keep the two trophies in our cabinets."
We predict The team's technical advantage may have been neutralised but Vettel's confidence and Newey's grey matter are a difficult combination to conquer.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/mar/13/f1-2012-team-guide