Red Bull Is Out For A Mercedes Takedown

Red Bull is pulling out all the stops on its 2017 car in an effort to dethrone Mercedes – if Renault is able to deliver on their end.

Mercedes has been at the head of the game for a long, long time. The triple-world championship winners have dominated Q3  and the podium top-steps for three years running, with no signs of stopping. That won’t be the case for long if Red Bull has anything to say about it.

Speaking out regarding their new machine for 2017, team boss Christian Horner is presenting a dedicated, focused, and driven team with a brand new engine in tow:

“It’s a brand new engine for this year, a change of philosophy. They’ve [Renault] had a big winter.

We’re hoping for a step in performance, and if that’s delivered then hopefully we can really be a challenger team this year, and give Mercedes and Ferrari a hard time. Mercedes for sure, they’re the triple world champions, they’re the team to beat.

They set the bar pretty high. That’s what we’re aspiring to. Hopefully we can be a real challenger team. I think the driver line-up we have is fantastic, we’ve had great stability in the team, and we’re excited about the year ahead.” – Christian Horner

Pre-installation lap nail-biting at testing last year:

Though Horner exuded confidence in regards to Red Bull’s line-up, he did admit that the team was feeling the grip of the pre-test jitters as the clock counts down to the Barcelona test:

“It’s always an anxious moment before the car runs for the first time, for it to drive out of the garage and down the pit lane.

The first thing that you want to see is that it comes back at the end of the lap! It’s an exciting moment to see the car break cover.” – Christian Horner

We’re in the midst of the wonderful period where teams reveal their contending machines for the upcoming season – a little Formula One advent calendar of sorts. Though it’s certain that Red Bull’s new set-up will look like a stunner, let’s hope it’s performance isn’t a dud.