08/05/2019
NEWS STORY
The start of the European F1 season heralds the return of the F1 paddock in its full glory, with transporters, treehouses and motorhomes. After 14 seasons of sterling work, Red Bull's home from home has been replaced and the new Red Bull F1 Energy Station looks rather different. The Austrian team is nicknaming it the F1 Holzhaus (or Wood House).
The original Red Bull Holzhaus is a MotoGP motorhome that debuted last year with a one-off F1 appearance at the Austrian Grand Prix. It proved a big success and so it wasn't long before the decision was taken to build a new home suitable for the teams' needs.
This year, Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso get a Holzhaus to call their own. To be unveiled at this week's Spanish Grand Prix, it will be bigger than the original – but still made of sustainably sourced Austrian timber.
The new Energy Station will be something of a behemoth and, at 1221m2, it offers 27 percent more floor space than its predecessor. It can be erected in less than two days and taken down in one by a crew of 25, and uses a natural convection design intended to do away with the need for air conditioning.
"At the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix, Red Bull changed the game with the introduction of its Energy Station," says Christian Horner. "Over the last 14 seasons, the Energy Station has undergone several transformations, moving with the times, first to accommodate two F1 teams after the arrival of Toro Rosso, and then with a series of upgrades to better meet our changing requirements.
"This week, we're changing the game again with the unveiling of the new Energy Station, better known in Austria as the Holzhaus. It's a sustainable structure that brings a touch of the Styrian Alps to the F1 paddock, having been designed to meet the current and future needs of ourselves and Toro Rosso. If it sees half as much drama as the old Energy Station, it will be doing well!"
"We are happy to be back in Europe for the first race of the European season," added Franz Tost, "and to make it an even more exciting occasion, Toro Rosso, together with Red Bull Racing, is thrilled to unveil our brand-new Energy Station to the Formula 1 world.
"An eye-catching sight in the F1 paddock, our new home has far more space than the previous Energy Station covering more than 1200 square metres. By having such a spacious layout, this provides both teams with a warm, state of the art working environment, which will result in an extra incentive to go to the track in the morning.
"It's very important to keep the morale of our team members high, especially considering how much time they spend at the circuit, so to have such an amazing structure ensures we will find them all happy. It's also crucial to us that our guests feel comfortable and welcome, which is why our new Energy Station is constructed of mostly larch wood from Styria, Austria, which gives it a cosy cabin feel. In addition, the open floor plan of the Energy Station presents a pleasant atmosphere.
"We can't wait to set up our offices in what is going to be our new home in Europe and start what we hope will be an exciting race weekend in Barcelona."
While simplicity lies at the heart of the new Energy Station's function, it's certainly a very complex structure. So, just to keep things interesting, after the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the crew will be taking it down in a hurry, transporting it to Imperia on the Italian Riviera, and rebuilding it there on a barge, to be towed to Monte Carlo.
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