19/12/2014
NEWS STORY
Admitting that pre-season testing was the "worst ever", Christian Horner is more than impressed with the way Red Bull was able to turn its season around.
"Looking at the scale of the challenge we faced pre-season, it was quite astronomical," he admits in a review of the team's 2014 season for its website. "It was without any shadow of a doubt our worst ever pre-season, we were unreliable and uncompetitive.
"But the turn around, even in time for the Australian Grand Prix and the sheer effort and push from the team for the rest of the season was outstanding."
Asked about Daniel Ricciardo's season, the Australian winning three races - the team's only wins of 2014 and the only non-Mercedes driver to stand atop the podium - the response is obvious.
"I think Daniel has been the sensation of the year to be honest with you," says Horner. "The way he's raced, he's wheel to wheel racing, his speed, his composure in the car, he's looked like he's belonged at that level. I think he's out done all of our expectations and even his own."
And other than Ricciardo, who else stole the show. "The performance of the Mercedes power unit has been hugely impressive," he admits. "They've done an amazing job to come up with such a refined and complete package.
"Other surprises have been Dany Kvyat, having won the GP3 championship last year and coming in as a rookie with no pre-season testing with the problems the Renault powered teams had, and again he's been fantastic this year."
So fantastic that in only his second season he is moving up from sister team Toro Rosso tp partner Ricciardo, as Sebastian Vettel heads to Ferrari.
"The way he has performed this year has been phenomenal, he's been very quick," says Horner of the Russian starlet. "I think what gave us real confidence was the performance Daniel has delivered this year. Giving him the opportunity has given us the confidence that you can invest in youth and you can believe and trust in it. That's why we've taken Kvyat.
"I've known him obviously since being a member in the Red Bull Junior team, he drove for my team in GP3 as well, where he won the Championship and his fight back that year from mid-season to the end of the year was truly impressive.
"The two get on very well and know each other. They both have a bit of banter outside the car, in the car they are both hungry, no quarter given racing drivers. They know they are driving for Red Bull, the brand, the team and all employees of the ground and with that comes a responsibility."
Other than drivers, another integral part of Red Bull's title-winning success story, Adrian Newey, has been in the news, with continued speculation as to his involvement.
"Adrian is taking a little bit of a step back," reveals Horner, "but he's still very much involved. He's overseen the design of the new car and will be coming to some of the races and he'll be at some of the pre-season tests as well.
"He is going to be splitting his time between Formula One and Red Bull Advanced Technologies," he continues. "We recently announced a project with Ben Ainslie Racing, a British Americas Cup entry, which is primarily focused on simulation and mathematical modelling.
"It's great to still have Adrian as part of the Team and still advising and mentoring Dan Fallows, Rob Marshall, Pierre Wache and Paul Monaghan. We have such a strong Senior Technical Team."
And looking ahead to 2015...
"From a regulation point of view, nothing really will change. It's down to the teams to try and catch Mercedes now and we have a lot of work going on with Renault to try and reduce that gap. Those guys (Mercedes) aren't going to stand still either.
"We have an exciting new driver line up next year in Daniel and Dany and that's going to be an exciting new dynamic and they are going to be pushing very hard. We're going to see Sebastian in red which is going to be a bit different and weird for the first few races. I think we're set for a fantastic season, Fernando Alonso in a McLaren... again. I think it's going to be a season of change."