The Red Bull RB4 is a Formula One racing car with which the Red Bull Racing team competed in the 2008 Formula One season .
56-709: The RB4 is the team's second Adrian Newey -designed car; this car has had the help of Geoff Willis whom the team had recruited from Honda in 2007. The car included the Renault R27-2008 engine, the second year the Renault engine had powered the Red Bull team. The car was launched at the Jerez Circuit on 16 January 2008, the same day the RB4 was taken for its first shakedown laps by driver David Coulthard, Mark Webber got his first taste of
112-472: A racing driver , winning both the 2016–17 MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship and the 2017–18 Asian Le Mans Series . Newey has been married to Amanda "Mandy" Smerczak since August 2017. She is the daughter of South African actor Ron Smerczak . Newey-designed chassis have won 12 World Constructors' and 14 World Drivers' Championships , including four consecutive Constructors' titles from 2010 to 2013 with Red Bull . Newey has made 40 entries as
168-445: A close friendship with Rahal, which would impact their careers some fifteen years later. Newey's March 85C design won the 1985 CART championship in the hands of Al Unser , and the 1985 Indianapolis 500 with Danny Sullivan . In 1986 Newey moved to Kraco to engineer Michael Andretti 's car, while his March 86C design won the CART title and 1986 Indianapolis 500 with Bobby Rahal. At
224-697: A large step up in performance for the team, with one–two finishes at Shanghai, in a rain affected race, and at the British Grand Prix, both won by Sebastian Vettel . Webber went on to win in Germany before a hat-trick of wins for the team at the end of the season, including another one–two in Abu Dhabi. Red Bull finished the season a comfortable second in the Constructors' Championship. The 2010 Red Bull car (the RB6) started
280-571: A lead designer in Formula One, winning World Championships with 15 and Grands Prix with 31, as of 2024 . Key: ( Bold ) Personal record; (*) constructor record; (†) Formula One record Formula One Grands Prix Formula One , abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing series managed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in
336-678: A part of the World Championships from 1950 until 1960 despite not being named a Grand Prix. The 1950 British Grand Prix was the first Formula One World Championship Grand Prix. Not included in this list are non-championship Grands Prix held to Formula One regulations from 1946 to 1983 and as part of each of the British Formula One Championship and the South African Formula One Championship . Races have been held under 54 race titles as of
392-483: A podium at Montreal. At the half-way mark, Red Bull was in a fierce battle for fourth place in the Constructors Championship, along with Renault and Toyota. However, Red Bull scored just five points in the second half of the season (compared to 24 in the first half) as the team slipped down the grid. Even Toro Rosso managed to outscore them by the end of the season. The car Newey designed for 2009 represented
448-428: A season of 17 races. Nevertheless, with the disqualification of McLaren-Mercedes, Red Bull achieved fifth place in the 2007 Constructors' Championship as targeted. Technical directors Adrian Newey and Geoff Willis noted that the 2008 chassis was the most intricate design to have rolled out of their factory. The season started well for the team, with Mark Webber scoring five consecutive points finishes and Coulthard claiming
504-542: A season. Italy has held the most Grands Prix with 107 since its first in 1950. Only Morocco has staged just one Grand Prix. The most recent addition was the Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023 . As of the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix , 1,123 World Championship events have been held over 75 seasons in 34 countries and under 54 race titles at 77 racing circuits. These figures include the Indianapolis 500 races which were
560-596: A team, but with Head a share-holding founder of Williams, he found his way blocked. Loss of both drivers' and constructors' titles to Benetton in 1995 saw further distance put between Newey and Williams, and by the time Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve secured both titles in 1996 Newey had been placed on gardening leave prior to joining McLaren. His career at Williams ended with his cars winning 59 race victories, 78 pole positions and 60 fastest laps all from 114 races from 1991 till 1997. These seven years saw four drivers clinch world championship titles. Unable to influence
616-427: A three-part qualifying session on Saturday to set the starting order for Sunday's race. A Saturday sprint is held at select events, with the starting grid determined by a separate, shorter qualifying session held on Friday. Grands Prix are frequently named after the country, region or city in which they are raced, and in some seasons, nations have hosted more than one event. Should Formula One hold two or more races in
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#1732876403658672-465: A two-race ban for Schumacher, enabled Williams to claim their third straight constructors' championship. However, Williams were unable to take a third consecutive drivers' title, and with possible manslaughter charges for Senna's accident in prospect, cracks began to show in Newey's relationship with Williams team management. By 1995, it was clear that Newey was once more ready to become technical director of
728-743: Is a British engineer, aerodynamicist , automotive designer and motorsport executive. From 2025 onwards, Newey is set to serve as technical director and co-owner of Aston Martin in Formula One ; he previously served as technical director of Leyton House and McLaren , chief designer of March and Williams , and CTO of Red Bull Racing . Widely regarded as one of the greatest engineers in Formula One history, Newey's designs have won 12 World Constructors' Championship titles and 222 Grands Prix between 1991 and 2024 . After designing championship-winning Formula One cars for Williams and McLaren , Newey moved to Red Bull Racing in 2006, his cars winning
784-496: The 2013 Indian Grand Prix with Vettel scoring a record-breaking 9 consecutive wins from the Belgian Grand Prix till the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix . On 8 June 2014, Red Bull Racing announced that Newey had extended his contract for the next few seasons, giving Newey a wider responsibility including "new Red Bull Technology projects". Allegedly, Red Bull fought off a £20m contract offer by Scuderia Ferrari . After
840-1257: The 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix . There have been 34 countries that have hosted a Formula One World Championship race, as of the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix . Styrian Grand Prix : 2 (2020–2021) Azerbaijan Grand Prix : 7 (2017–2019, 2021–2024)* Sakhir Grand Prix : 1 (2020) São Paulo Grand Prix : 4 (2021–2024)* Swiss Grand Prix : 1 (1982) European Grand Prix : 12 (1984, 1995–1996, 1999–2007) Luxembourg Grand Prix : 2 (1997–1998) Eifel Grand Prix : 1 (2020) Pescara Grand Prix : 1 (1957) San Marino Grand Prix : 26 (1981–2006) Tuscan Grand Prix : 1 (2020) Emilia Romagna Grand Prix : 4 (2020–2022, 2024)* Pacific Grand Prix : 2 (1994–1995) Mexico City Grand Prix : 4 (2021–2024)* European Grand Prix : 7 (1994, 1997, 2008–2012) European Grand Prix , 3 (1983, 1985, 1993) 70th Anniversary Grand Prix , 1 (2020) United States Grand Prix , 45 (1959–1980, 1989–1991, 2000–2007, 2012–2019, 2021–2024)* United States Grand Prix West , 8 (1976–1983) Caesars Palace Grand Prix , 2 (1981–1982) Detroit Grand Prix , 7 (1982–1988) Dallas Grand Prix , 1 (1984) Miami Grand Prix , 3 (2022–2024)* Las Vegas Grand Prix , 2 (2023–2024)* A total of 77 circuits have hosted
896-808: The Fittipaldi Formula One team under Harvey Postlethwaite . In 1981, he joined the March team. After a period as a race engineer for Johnny Cecotto in European Formula 2 , Newey began designing racing cars. His first project, the March GTP sports car, was a highly successful design and won the IMSA GTP title two years running. In 1984, Newey moved to the March Indy car project, working as designer and race engineer for Bobby Rahal at Truesports . Newey formed
952-642: The Monaco Grand Prix . Although assisted by retirements of other competitors, indications were that the team was eventually beginning to pick up where it left off in 2005 when they finished a close seventh overall. The 2007 Red Bull of his design was powered by the Renault RS26 engine as the Ferrari 056 contract was transferred to Scuderia Toro Rosso , Red Bull Racing's "B team". The car was reasonably fast but rather unreliable, with each driver retiring seven times in
1008-580: The RB17 hypercar (2025). He is set to fully leave the company in the first quarter of 2025. Adrian Martin Newey was born in Colchester, Essex , England, on 26 December 1958, the son of Richard and Edwina Newey. His father was a veterinarian and his mother was an ambulance driver during the Second World War. He attended Repton public school alongside motoring journalist and writer Jeremy Clarkson . Newey
1064-710: The Red Bull Technology building in Great Britain in discussion with Kazunori Yamauchi , a Japanese game designer who is the CEO of Polyphony Digital and creator and producer of the Gran Turismo series. The three's collaboration would later lead to the completion of concept cars Red Bull X2010 and Red Bull X2011 , which appeared in that game. On 2 July 2010, Newey was rewarded with his own Red Bull RB5 , out of regard for his achievements with Red Bull Racing since he joined
1120-503: The 2008 testing season, optimising the RB4 to the new rules and regulations. The team was pleased with the car's performance through the testing season before the season opener in Melbourne . Toro Rosso driver and future Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel had the opportunity of testing the RB4 at the Barcelona test between 18 and 20 February 2008 as Coulthard had a trapped nerve. Vettel tested
1176-502: The Formula One drivers' and constructors' championships consecutively from 2010 to 2013, the drivers' championship in 2021, and both championships in 2022 and 2023. The Newey-designed RB19 is the most successful Formula One car in history, winning 21 out of the 22 races (95.45%) in which it competed. Newey's designs also won the 1985 and 1986 CART titles. On 1 May 2024, Red Bull Racing announced that Newey would leave his day-to-day Formula One design duties immediately and shift his focus to
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#17328764036581232-520: The RB4 at the Valencia Circuit on 24 January 2008, who described the car as "encouraging" and "a big step forward". As all teams had to conform to the new set of 2008 regulations, the RB4 had the new standard electronic control unit, produced by McLaren Electronic Systems , that aims to prevent the use of driver aids such as traction control and engine braking . At the February 1 test at Barcelona,
1288-458: The RB4 sported a radical new fin-shaped engine cover. This was part of the initial aerodynamic package changes that most teams implemented before the opening round in Australia. Webber drove the RB4 with the "Shark Fin," while Coulthard used a more conventionally shaped RB4. The RB4 was a contender for "the best of the rest" title in testing for the 2008 season, with both Webber and Coulthard topping
1344-573: The RB6's speed and also proved to be reliable, making it the clearly dominant car in the pack. The car took 18 of the 19 pole positions and won 12 races. On 9 October 2011, Red Bull won the World Drivers' Championship, making Sebastian Vettel the youngest double champion in the history of F1. Red Bull followed up this title with securing the Constructors' Championship on 16 October at the 2011 Korean Grand Prix . The following year, despite initial concerns as to
1400-514: The car on the 19th, the middle day of testing. Vettel completed 109 laps, and came in 7th with a time of 1:22.558, the same day Webber came in 17th with a time of 1:23.458 after doing 58 laps. The top driver that day was Lewis Hamilton, in a McLaren-Mercedes, with a time of 1:21.234 after 81 laps completed. When the Red Bull Cola was launched, the brand was advertised on the bargeboards and rear wing in certain races. In Brazil, Coulthard's RB4
1456-520: The car's superiority compared to the McLaren MP4-27 and a stern challenge from Ferrari's Fernando Alonso in the inferior F2012 , Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel once again claimed the championship at a dramatic 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix . In 2013, the RB9 along with Sebastian Vettel dominated the field after the summer break to defend both the World Drivers' and World Constructors' Championship in style at
1512-595: The case, citing "material errors"; the court gave Newey a full acquittal in May 2005. Newey is an avid sports car collector and driver, having participated in the Le Mans Legend races for a few years. He destroyed a Ford GT40 while competing in 2006, but escaped with only a cut finger. He later wrecked a Jaguar E-Type at the Goodwood Revival Meeting. In 2007, he made the move to modern racing, becoming part of
1568-545: The design of the 1997 McLaren, Newey was forced to attempt to improve on the Neil Oatley design while concentrating his efforts on the 1998 car. A win at the 1997 European Grand Prix saw McLaren enter the off-season on a high, and when the racing resumed four months later the McLaren MP4/13 was the car to beat. Titles followed in 1998 and 1999 , and Mika Häkkinen narrowly missed out on a third drivers' title in 2000. In
1624-479: The dominant design partnership of the early 1990s. By mid-season 1991, Newey's FW14 chassis was every bit a match for the previously dominant McLaren , but early season reliability issues and the efforts of Ayrton Senna prevented Williams team leader Nigel Mansell from taking the title. In 1992, there would be no problems, and with dominance of the sport not repeated until the Ferrari / Schumacher era, Mansell took
1680-676: The driver line-up in the AF Corse Ferrari F430 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans . Newey and co-drivers Ben Aucott and Joe Macari managed to finish 22nd outright, and fourth in class. On 15 June 2010, during the Sony E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference, it was revealed that Newey collaborated as the chief technical officer for the video game Gran Turismo 5 for the PlayStation 3. A game trailer showed Newey along with race car driver Sebastian Vettel at
1736-622: The drivers' crown and Newey secured his first constructors' title. 1993 delivered a second, this time with Alain Prost at the wheel of the FW15C . 1994 saw a rare dip in performance for Newey-designed cars and the team and drivers struggled to match the Rory Byrne -designed Benetton B194 for pace and reliability. Disaster struck at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix with the death of Ayrton Senna who had joined Williams that year. A late-season charge, helped by
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1792-630: The end of 1986 Newey joined the Haas Lola F1 team in an effort to improve its fortunes, but the team withdrew at the conclusion of the 1986 season. After a spell at Newman-Haas in 1987 working as Mario Andretti 's race engineer, Newey was re-hired by March, this time to work in Formula One as chief designer. Newey's first F1 design, the 1988 March 881 , was far more competitive than many expected, with Ivan Capelli finishing second in Portugal , and even passing Alain Prost 's McLaren - Honda turbo for
1848-513: The lead of the Japanese Grand Prix briefly on lap 16. As March became Leyton House Racing in 1990 , Newey gained promotion to the role of technical director. In France Capelli led the most part of the race and finished second after a late pass by Prost's Ferrari, but that proved to be the year's bright spot, with the team's results declining. In the summer of 1990, Newey was fired, although he soon found another role. Newey later said: "I
1904-613: The most Grands Prix on any circuit with 74. The Circuit de Monaco is second with 70 events and the Silverstone Circuit in the United Kingdom is third with 59 races. Austria, Bahrain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States have all held two Grands Prix in various seasons; the United States ( 1982 , 2023 and 2024 ) and Italy ( 2020 ) are the only countries to have hosted three races during
1960-640: The most dominant F1 cars in history, with a win rate of 95.45% beating the previous record of 93.8% set by the McLaren MP4/4 from 1988. At the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix , Verstappen took Red Bull's 100th win, which also marked Newey's 200th win in Formula One. Later that year, Red Bull broke McLaren's legendary record of 11 consecutives victories by winning the Hungarian Grand Prix , while in Italy , Verstappen broke Vettel's historic 9 consecutive wins. This win
2016-400: The name alludes to a series of FIA rules to which all participants and vehicles are required to conform. The Formula One World Championship season consists of a series of races around the world, known as Grands Prix, usually held on purpose-built circuits , and in a few cases on closed city streets . Each Grand Prix meeting lasts three days with either one or three practice sessions before
2072-541: The same nation in the same year, on either a different or the same track, then their names will be different. The results of each Grand Prix held throughout the season are combined to decide two annual championships, one for drivers and one for constructors . Grand Prix distance regulations have varied throughout Formula One history. Between 1950 and 1957 , events ran for more than 300 km (190 mi) or three hours. In 1958 , race lengths were set between 300 and 500 km (190 and 310 mi) or two hours. It
2128-512: The season well and proved to be the class of the field, winning on circuits requiring strengths in widely differing areas and winning the Constructors' Championship. It took 15 out of a possible 19 pole positions. At the 2010 Brazilian GP, Red Bull won the 2010 Constructors' Championship. On 14 November 2010 when Red Bull won the World Drivers' Championship with Sebastian Vettel, Newey became the only F1 designer to have won Constructors' Championships with three different F1 teams. The 2011 RB7 built on
2184-553: The sport introduced V6 turbo-hybrid power units in 2014, Newey's cars were held back by the performance of the Renault power units, but a switch to Honda power in 2019 eventually gave the team a power unit capable of winning a title. Between 2014 and 2020, all of his cars except the RB11 (2015) won at least two Grands Prix, with the RB10 , RB12 and RB16 taking second place in the 2014, 2016, 2020 Constructors' Championships. The 2021 season saw
2240-525: The spring of 2001, Newey signed a contract with the Jaguar F1 team managed by Newey's friend and former CART colleague Bobby Rahal . Despite having a signed contract, Rahal was unable to complete the deal when McLaren boss Ron Dennis persuaded Newey to stay. Newey and Rahal later stated that the deal failed due to Rahal's position within Jaguar being undermined by Niki Lauda and internal politics at Ford. Rahal
2296-543: The team from February 2006. The Guardian reported that Newey would be getting around $ 10 million a year at Red Bull Racing after McLaren baulked at increasing his salary in contract renewal negotiations. Newey could hardly influence the design of the 2006 car and Red Bull's season started with poor results, having scored only two points from six races. However, the team's lead driver, David Coulthard , who had driven Newey-designed cars for years for both Williams and McLaren, managed to secure third place and six points in
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2352-558: The team in 2007. Newey first drove the car up the hill at the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed . On 8 August 2010, Newey was involved in an accident whilst taking part in the Ginetta G50 Cup at the Snetterton circuit as a guest driver. He was spun into the path of Tony Hughes , and his car sustained a heavy side-on impact. He was taken to hospital for precautionary checks, but sustained no serious injuries. On 10 October 2018, Newey
2408-646: The team on 1 March 2025, in time for the 2026 regulations. Following the death of Ayrton Senna at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in a car that Newey helped to design, Newey was among several members of the Williams team to be charged with manslaughter. In an initial ruling, in December 1997, Newey was acquitted. The acquittal was upheld on appeal in November 1999. In January 2003, the Italian Supreme Court re-opened
2464-590: The team return to title contention, with the RB16B design winning the Drivers' Championship with Max Verstappen . In 2022, the RB18 proved to be a strong contender and gave Verstappen his second Drivers' Championship at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix , as well as delivering Red Bull their first Constructors' Championship since 2013. It was followed by the RB19 which would end up being one of
2520-505: The timesheets. However both drivers had a couple of small incidents, with Coulthard "kissing the wall" between turns 7 and 8 at the Circuit de Catalunya on 19 February 2008, and Webber having some minor kerb damage on the monocoque, which could "not be repaired in time to resume testing" on his first day driving the RB4. Even considering the setbacks and competitive times, the team and both drivers were making sure but steady progress throughout
2576-433: Was also the 15th in a row for Red Bull Racing, setting two new records. On 25 April 2024, motorsport media outlets began reporting Newey having interest in leaving Red Bull Racing. Red Bull Racing responded to the reports via a spokesman to PlanetF1.com stating that “Adrian is contracted until at least the end of 2025 ... We are unaware of him joining any other team.” Five days later, it was reported that Newey's departure
2632-403: Was announced as an advisory board member of the forthcoming W Series , a racing championship for women based on Formula 3 -homologated Tatuus T-318 chassis. Newey's first wife was Amanda, a nurse, and they had two daughters. They married in 1983 and separated in 1989. He married his second wife Marigold in 1992 and they separated in 2010. They had a daughter, and son Harrison , who became
2688-583: Was asked to leave Repton at the age of 16 after an incident at a Greenslade concert at Repton's 19th-century Pears School Building organised by the school's sixth formers , where he pushed up the sound levels on the band's mixer, cracking the building's stained glass windows. Newey gained a first class honours degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Southampton in 1980. Immediately after graduation he began working in motorsport for
2744-464: Was complete and an official announcement would be issued prior to the 2024 Miami Grand Prix . Newey is set to leave Red Bull Racing during the first quarter of 2025 and step away from his Formula One duties while still working on their first hypercar on the trackside, the RB17 . Newey signed a contract with Aston Martin Racing, as a shareholder and Managing Technical Partner for the team, he will join
2800-496: Was decorated in the livery of " Wings for Life ", a charity dedicated to raising awareness of spinal cord injuries . Coulthard said: "I'm dedicating my last race to the vision of making paraplegia curable." Red Bull received approval from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , Formula One's governing body , to run Coulthard's car in different colours than his teammate Webber. ( key ) Adrian Newey Adrian Martin Newey OBE (born 26 December 1958)
2856-449: Was fired but I'd already made up my mind I was going – because once a team gets run by an accountant, it's time to move. Your self-confidence does suffer but Williams had approached me." Through the 1980s and into the 1990s, Williams F1 was a top running team, and technical director Patrick Head wasted no time in getting a contract signed. With a vastly superior budget, drivers and resources at his disposal, Newey and Head rapidly became
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#17328764036582912-416: Was fired from the team several months later. Despite remaining with McLaren, rumours persisted that Newey wanted to leave the team, and by late 2004 his future began to look uncertain when speculation began that the engineer could return to Williams or even leave the sport completely. Despite strenuous denials from Ron Dennis stories continued to circulate during the 2004/2005 off-season that Newey's departure
2968-553: Was four hours, before being reduced to three hours for 2021 . The British Grand Prix and Italian Grand Prix are the most frequently held events in the Formula One World Championship with 75 editions each since the races first formed a part of the series in 1950, followed by the Monaco Grand Prix which has been held 70 times, all on the same course, the Circuit de Monaco . Italy's Monza Circuit has hosted
3024-439: Was imminent. In April 2005, it was confirmed that his contract with the team had been extended by six months to the end of the year at which point he was expected to take a sabbatical or retire from Formula One design completely, but on 19 July instead he stated that "this step can wait" and he would remain with McLaren for the year 2006. Despite those assurances, Red Bull Racing announced on 8 November 2005 that Newey would join
3080-403: Was reduced to between 300 and 400 km (190 and 250 mi) from 1966 with an established maximum length of 321.87 km (200.00 mi) in 1971 . From 1973 to 1980 , races had to last either 321.87 km (200.00 mi) or two hours, whichever came first. Distances of between 250 and 320 km (160 and 200 mi) or two hours were used from 1981 to 1984 . The minimum distance
3136-415: Was revised to 300 km (190 mi) including the formation lap in 1984 and the maximum length was standardised at 305 km (190 mi) in 1989 . The exception to the rule is the Monaco Grand Prix , which has a scheduled length of at least 260 km (160 mi). No race can last more than two hours if it goes unhalted. From 2012 , the maximum permitted race time including probable stoppages
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