RED BULL RB2 Ferrari

   The surprising debut season of the new Austrian team Red Bull Racing, with no fewer than 34 points scored with the RB1, laid solid foundations for 2006. On 23 April 2005, the team announced an agreement to use customer Ferrari engines in 2006, coinciding with the regulation change mandating the use of V8 engines, making it likely that both Red Bull Racing and Ferrari would run the same power unit. Six months later, on 8 November 2005, the Austrian team pulled off the first of many market coups that would characterize the Christian Horner–led outfit in the years to come: the signing of the brilliant English engineer and McLaren Technical Director, Adrian Newey. Newey joined the team in February 2006, but decided to begin working directly on the RB3 project for 2007, rather than on the RB2, which had already been outlined the previous year by Mark Smith. On 15 December 2005, the team’s second car, the Red Bull RB2, was ready to take to the track for the first time at Silverstone, although during the initial tests the car was plagued by cooling issues and component overheating.

RED BULL RB2, David Coulthard
Melbourne, Australian GP 2006

   The second Red Bull single-seater was born with an updated group of engineers, thanks to new hires selected by Horner. While awaiting Adrian Newey’s arrival on track, the role of Technical Director for the development of the RB2 was held by Mark Smith, while Rob Taylor was the Chief Designer. Anton Stipinovitch headed the R&D-Controls and Development department, Andrew Green served as Head of R&D-Testing and Vehicle Dynamics, and Ben Agathangelou remained Head of Aerodynamics. Given the strong results of 2005 and while awaiting Newey’s RB3, the RB2 project was carried out based on the previous RB1, although the designers were forced to modify the rear end to accommodate the new Ferrari V8 engine in place of the earlier Cosworth V10. At the beginning of the season, the Italian V8 produced around 740 hp at 19,000 rpm, like the unit powering the scarlet cars from Maranello, but as the season progressed, upgrades were initially reserved only for Ferrari and subsequently extended to the Austrian cars, bringing them to around 780 hp by the end of the season compared with nearly 800 hp for the Maranello engines. The Ferrari V8 was paired with a longitudinal seven-speed semi-automatic gearbox produced by Red Bull, while the chassis and suspension systems followed the layouts already seen on the 2005 RB1s.

RED BULL RB2, Christian Klien
Imola, San Marino GP 2006

   The team’s facilities and base remained in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, but the investments made by Red Bull to quickly rise through the Formula 1 ranks led the Austrian organization to purchase the small Italian team Minardi, with the aim of developing young drivers from the Red Bull Junior Team. The Italian outfit was renamed Scuderia Toro Rosso, maintaining its headquarters in Faenza. The Red Bull RB2 promised to be an excellent car, the product of a conservative project but with innovative ideas such as the elegant V-shaped front suspension mounting, directly inspired by the world-champion Renault R25. After the overheating issues encountered during the first tests, stemming from an initial design flaw, modifications to the car required time, slowing its development compared with other teams. Everything, however, was resolved in time for the first race of the championship in Bahrain.

RED BULL RB2, David Coulthard
Montecarlo, Monaco GP 2006 

   The RB2’s livery was substantially identical to that of the previous RB1, with the only differences being the reversal of the color combination on the three side stripes and the removal of the checkered-flag pattern from the engine cover and from the outer sections of the rear-wing endplates. As in 2005, for the Monaco Grand Prix the two RB2s raced with a special livery promoting the release of the film Superman Returns. The new livery differed from the standard one through the presence of a red cape, inspired by Superman’s, that stretched from the cockpit and wrapped around the upper surfaces of the sidepods and rear wing, where the Superman emblem was displayed on the endplates. The new Red Bull was driven by Briton David Coulthard and Austrian Christian Klien, both of whom had already raced for the team in its debut season. However, after the Italian Grand Prix, Klien was replaced by the team’s third driver, Dutchman Robert Doornbos, after the Austrian refused the team’s offer of a Champ Car seat for 2007 when it became clear he would be replaced by Mark Webber for the following season.

RED BULL RB2, David Coulthard
Monza, Italian GP 2006

   After the promising results of the inaugural season, 2006 proved to be a disappointing year for Red Bull, considered a season of consolidation, and turned out to be traditionally challenging for a new team. The new Ferrari engines were blamed as the main cause of the cooling problems suffered early in the season and, with limited testing time, the team spent most of the championship stuck in the midfield. This situation was further worsened by Red Bull abandoning development of the RB2 very early in the season to allow the new Chief Technical Officer, Adrian Newey, to focus on the new 2007 car. Nevertheless, there were still memorable moments in an otherwise disappointing year, the most important being without doubt the team’s first podium with Coulthard’s third place in Monaco. At the end of the championship, the Austrian team finished seventh in the Constructors’ standings with 16 points. Coulthard (14 points) placed 13th in the Drivers’ standings, while Klien (2 points) finished 18th.