Wednesday, 12 March 2014

F1 - Ten facts about each of the two Red Bull Drivers.

One is a four-time world champion. The other is the team's newest recruit, but it's their beginnings that show they're not as different as you might think.
In less than a week's time, Seb and Dan will line up on the grid for the very first time together as teammates. They already have something in common, but scratch the surface a little deeper and it's plain to see that both our Red Bull Young Guns have shared a very similar path.


As such, we've gathered 10 fast facts on our 2014 drivers to give you the lowdown on the team's newest recruit, and a reminder of how Seb worked his way into motorsports history.
Sebastian Vettel
1. Born July 3, 1987 in regional West Germany, Seb's first taste of motorsport came courtesy of go-karts, and at age eight he began racing karts seriously.
2. Having dominated the European karting scene in the space of just three years, Seb won acceptance into the burgeoning Red Bull Junior Team as a prodigy aged just 11, though he'd continue to race go-karts.
3. In 2003, now 16 years old, Seb was finally of age for a promotion and debuted in Formula BMW where we went on to win 18 of 20 races and win the championship in his rookie season.
4. Come 2005 and as rookie of the year in the Formula 3 Euro series, sporting Red Bull livery, Seb won a test with BMW Sauber.
5. By 2006 and now contesting both the Formula 3 and Renault 3.5 series, the German had done enough to earn a permanent position as Sauber's test and reserve driver to set the quickest times in free practice at the Turkey Grand Prix.
6. Mid-season 2007, he was called up to the big leagues to make his debut in place of the injured Robert Kubica in the U.S. Grand Prix where he finished eighth and was eventually released back to Red Bull to join Toro Rosso as a full-time driver.
7. It was in his first season with Toro Rosso where Seb's true potential was made abundantly clear, the teenager scoring the team's two best results ahead of veteran teammate Sebastien Bourdais before spoiling a certain podium finish by running into future team-mate Mark Webber under safety car.
8. In 2008, after a rough start to the season plagued with accidents and reliability issues, Seb secured his first ever pole against all odds in Italy. He went on to win that race and finish eighth in the championship in his first full-time season with Toro Rosso.
9. Upon David Coulthard's retirement from Red Bull Racing at the end of that year, Seb was elevated to the main team alongside Mark Webber and in 2009 became the youngest ever runner-up in an F1 championship – a result Dan can only hope to emulate in his first season with the team this year.
10. With almost three seasons under his belt, the tutelage of Webber and a true understanding of the Infiniti Red Bull Racing machine, Seb was among the top-three quickest drivers on track in 2010 and an unlikely win in the final event in Abu Dhabi saw him steal the championship from under Mark's nose. He's gone on to win every championship since and establish himself as a modern-day great.
Daniel Ricciardo
1. Born July 1, 1989 in the regional West Australian city of Perth, Dan's first taste of motorsport was behind the wheel of an $800 go-kart his father bought him at age nine.
2. An obvious talent and multiple event winner on the Australian karting circuit, as soon as Dan was old enough he made the move to Formula Ford as a 15-year-old where he showed enough promise to earn a scholarship into the BMW Asia Pacific Championship in 2006.
3. Two victories and a third placing in the championship earned him a seat in Formula Renault 2.0 with RP Motorsport the next year, which saw him relocate to Italy full-time and finally get the exposure European drivers enjoyed.
4. It was here that saw Dan's path first align with that of Seb's – a few years ahead of him – with the Australian selected to join the 2008 Red Bull Junior Team for emerging young drivers. Compatriot Mark Webber would also become a mentor.
5. With Red Bull now on-board and upon celebrating his 18th birthday in his second year of Formula Renault, Dan secured his best ever result by taking out the Western European Cup and finishing runner-up in the Eurocup.
6. The year 2009 saw Dan graduate to the Euro Formula Three series and then British Formula Three championship where he became the first Australian since David Brabham in 1989 to win the series.
7. Again in 2009, Seb and Dan's paths would cross, Dan's F3 win earning him a test with Red Bull Racing and the rookie setting the fastest lap to win a seat as Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso's test and reserve driver. It was there the pair would share a garage for the first time.
8. In 2010, like Seb before him, Dan contested the Renault 3.5 Series to finish with a record eight poles, four wins and over-all runner-up. He then had an opportunity to test in Seb's championship-winning RB6. And just a week after Seb started on pole in Abu Dhabi and won the title, Dan went faster than Seb's time; he was helped by the conditions, but his speed said a lot. He'd arrived.
9. Having officially announced himself as a future world title contender but with no seat available at Red Bull or Toro Rosso, Dan was loaned to HRT in 2011 to make his F1 debut mid-season and earn much-needed experience before his impending debut for Toro Rosso in 2012.
10. After two seasons with Toro Rosso as the dominant driver in an under-performing car, Dan's biggest moment finally came with the announcement his friend Mark Webber was retiring from Formula 1. He was soon announced as the new driver and in 2014 finally has a chance to show what he is truly capable of in a Formula 1 car – alongside Seb himself.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please leave a message, I will verify them swiftly, Sorry to have to do this now as some twat keeps spamming my message system, unfortunately they are ignorant and spoil it for everyone else,

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.