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RedBull, Mercedes, and Reinventing the Sport
At 2:07:18 · chapter starts 2:05:07
Two consecutive £1 acquisitions reshape Formula 1's competitive and cultural landscape. First, Dietrich Mateschitz's Red Bull buys the failing Jaguar Racing team from Ford for £1 in 2004, hires young team principal Christian Horner, and transforms the paddock by bringing the Energy Station — a mobile nightclub with a rooftop swimming pool and open-door policy — to every race. Red Bull's model is unique: generate minimal or zero profit from racing itself, and use F1 as a marketing vehicle to sell energy drinks. They poach Adrian Newey from McLaren (Newey is described as able to 'see air') and win four consecutive championships from 2010–2013 with Sebastian Vettel. [1] — David Rosenthal "When Red Bull took over Jaguar Racing for £1 in 2004, they brought a mobile nightclub called the Energy Station to every Grand Prix with a …" 2:11:40 Second and even more improbably, Ross Brawn buys the defunct Honda team for £1 in 2009, can't attract a title sponsor, shoehorns a Mercedes engine into a Honda chassis nobody expected to work, and reveals a secret aerodynamic innovation — the double diffuser — that allows Jenson Button to win six of the first seven races. Despite winning nothing in the second half after rivals copy the diffuser, Brawn GP wins both championships in their sole season of existence. [2] — David Rosenthal "Ross Brawn bought the defunct Honda F1 team for £1 in 2008, couldn't find a title sponsor, got a Mercedes engine shoehorned into an ill-fit…" 3:07:30 Mercedes then buys 75% of Brawn for $200 million, eventually fires Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher (brought out of retirement), and replaces them with Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton — ushering in the most dominant dynasty in F1 history: 8 consecutive Constructors' Championships. The Mercedes team is now worth $6 billion; Toto Wolff, who negotiated ~30% equity ownership upon joining, is a billionaire.
When Red Bull took over Jaguar Racing for £1 in 2004, they brought a mobile nightclub called the Energy Station to every Grand Prix with a swimming pool on the roof, DJs at all hours, and an open-door policy for the entire paddock. McLaren banned their own staff from entering. Red Bull's marketing-as-racing-team model is still unique in sport.
