Why Does Red Bull Own an F1 Team?

In this week’s email:

• Why Does Red Bull Own an F1 Team?: Because they manufacture history

• Woman Driver Team Coming Soon: Saudi Arabia may be behind it

• Australian Grand Prix Up Next: West Coast gets a Saturday late-night race

• Meme of the Week: Mercedes engine go brrr

Why Does Red Bull Own an F1 Team?

They are a marketing machine

I came across this thread on Twitter written by Trung about how Red Bull attaches their name to history. I’m sure everyone’s aware that Red Bull is an energy drink. But did you know they don’t actually produce it? Instead, they outsource it all to Rauch, an Austrian bottler.

Red Bull concentrates on marketing. Coke/Pepsi spend 9% and 8% of their sales on marketing, Red Bull on the other hand spends a whopping 35% 🤯!

Red Bull first got into Formula 1 in 1989 by sponsoring Ferrari driver Gerbard Berger. Then in 1995 they purchased a minority stake in Sauber F1 Racing Team. However, 2001 the team decided to go with the Iceman (Kimi Raikkonen) over a Red Bull-trained driver. This led to a falling out between the two parties and Red Bull sold their stake but they weren’t done with Formula 1. They decided they needed 100% control of a team.

In 2004 they agreed to purchase the Jaguar F1 team for $1. Too good to be true right? Well, they also needed to commit $400M over the next 3 years to improve the team. In 2005 they renamed the team to Red Bull and made Christian Horner the man in charge.

Come 2009 and a young man named Sebastian Vettel gets a seat. He finishes 2nd in the Drivers’ Championship that first year. Then goes on a tear winning 4 straight championships from 2010-2013 while becoming the youngest World Champion.

Okay back to the marketing. In the first 14 years, Forbes says Red Bull spent $2.3B on Formula 1. In return, it’s estimated they got $300M+ a year in brand exposure totaling $5B+. They want to manufacture history. Here’s a part taken straight from Trung, which explains what Red Bull is doing. They aren’t just creating brand exposure, Red Bull Racing creates history, which ultimately reduces customer acquisition costs b/c:

• Fandom is heritable through generations

• Winning creates mythology around product

• Constant exposure creates deep affection

They don’t only own a Formula 1 team, they own a plethora of other sports teams, branded events, and create monumental moments like Felix Baumgartner skydiving from space.

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Woman Driver Team Coming Soon

Formula equal team is putting a bid in

The FIA recently announced they would be accepting at least one more team to the 10-team grid for 2026. Former Formula One team chief Craig Pollock has revealed he is working on a plan to return to the sport with a new team from a Gulf area country. There is speculation Saudi Arabia is behind the team.

Pollock is labeling the project ‘Formula Equal’. He wants the team to be made up of 50 percent men and 50 percent women. This would be a drastic change from how current teams operate, which are male-dominated. The team would also be outfitted with one female driver too.

The last female driver in Formula 1 was Giovanna Amati in 1992 when she attempted to qualify for a race on three separate occasions but was unsuccessful. Lella Lombardi was the last female to compete in a Formula 1 race back in 1976. She started in 12 total races and got as high as P6. Some teams nowadays would kill for a P6.

Australian Grand Prix Up Next

Get your popcorn ready, it’s going to be a late night for F1

Next stop on the Formula 1 calendar is the Australian GP. How wild are these times? If you’re on the west coast it could actually be pretty sweet watching a race 10 at night. If you’re in bed early you’re going to have to catch the replay.

Oscar Piastriv is going to be one of the major storylines surrounding the event. The McLaren driver is looking to make his home debut. He has yet to record any points so getting some this weekend would be extra special.

Toto is liking what he’s seeing at the Mercedes factory. They’re hoping to push the current state of the W14 to its limits while also working on making revisions to get back in championship contention.

Sunday will also mark a special moment in Lewis Hamilton’s career. Ten years ago marks his Mercedes debut at the Australian Grand Prix. At the time everyone thought he was making a mistake going from McLaren over to Mercedes, but 82 wins and 6 drivers’ championships later it doesn’t look so bad after all.

Meme of the Week