Red Bull Launched 2009 Formula 1 Car – The RB5

Red Bull's 2009 Formula One Car - The RB5

Red Bull’s 2009 Formula One Car, The RB5, was revealed in low-key fashion in the Jerez circuit pit-lane on February 09, 2009 (Monday morning). Red Bull Racing’s yellow-red-and-blue-liveried Formula One car, The RB5, made its debut at a circuit in southern Spain.

The car was unveiled by Australian Racer Mark Webber, currently out of action after breaking his leg in a cycling accident late last year. Driver Sebastian Vettel navigated it out of the garage into pit lane and after a handful of laps reported that it was running fine. “It’s good that we got the car running without any major problems, but it’s much too early to say anything about performance,” he said.

Principal of the team Christian Horner said the recently-made changes to racing rules gave teams an opportunity to compete on a more level playing field. Red Bull’s new vehicle has been designed by Red Bull’s chief technical officer Adrian Newey.

The RB5’s design encompasses the wide-ranging regulation changes that have been brought in to cut costs and boost overtaking for the 2009 season, and Adrian Newey admitted it has been quite a challenge.

A quick glance at the new Red Bull’s nose immediately marks it out from its rivals, with a higher and narrower nosecone than that seen on other teams’ cars to date. The RB5 also features what should be a more powerful engine, after Renault were allowed to make modifications to their V8 over the winter in order to help equalise outputs.

The team is confident the Renault-powered machine, again designed by Adrian Newey, will allow them to improve on their seventh place in the 2008 standings and perhaps even bring them their maiden win in 2009.

Specs released on Red Bull’s Website say the racer will draw power from a 2400cc Renault RS27 engine. The V8 unit (8 cylinders) revs to 18,000 rpm. The chassis is a composite structure.

Red Bull 2009 Formula1 Car RB5 Specifications
The RB5 Specifications

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Hungarian Grand Prix Reaches 45 Degrees

Nothing like a shower of bubbly

Heikki Kovalainen was covered in the sweet victory of bubbly at the end of the Hungarian Grand Prix after teammate Lewis Hamilton suffered tyre problems and race leader Felipe Massa bit the dust with only three laps to go before his engine failed.
 
The fifth place for Hamilton meant that his hopes of extending his world championship points were wrecked, but Hamilton was gallant about it all:

 

“Congratulations to my team-mate on his deserved first grand prix victory. It was nowhere near as bad as it could have been as we could have had Kimi and Felipe [ahead of us]. The race could have been better for me. My start was OK but Felipe’s was better and he managed to overtake me. My lap times were good and I kept the gap slightly small. With our strategy we still had the chance to pass him but the damaged tyre destroyed my race. I don’t know why it happened but at least I scored some points, so the result was not too bad for me.”

The tyre was reportedly damaged when it grazed a sidewall.

 

The temperature outside rose at one point to 45 degrees whilst Brazilian Felipe Massa took the lead from Hamilton in a flawless display of driving skill, until his engine died.

 

Timo Glock was in the race after a nasty crash in Hockenheim a fortnight earlier that saw him leave in an ambulance. A few days later Glock was back. Glock drove brilliantly and finished second in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Glock explained:

 

“It is just unbelievable after the race in Hockenheim and the big crash. I could not believe it when I saw Felipe’s engine go and I was second. I was under pressure from Kimi, with soft tyres and I was struggling quite a lot. We knew since Friday that the soft tyres would be difficult. I had a really good car. It was perfect until the last stint. Unbelievable, in my first year.”