Red Bull gives F1 team £25m boost

Energy drinks company Red Bull increased its investment in its Formula One team last year by £25m in a bid to win the 2010 championship, capsule according to recently released documents

In the year to 31 December 2009, Red Bull’s spending increased by 29.5 per cent to £107 million, in order to fund early development of its successful 2010 challenger. The team’s costs increased by 8.8 per cent to £157 million, with its single biggest expense believed to be the £57.2 million spent on research and development. This rose by 18.8 per cent year on year.

Dietrich Mateschitz, Red Bull’s chief executive, said that “in F1 we have no long or medium-term business plans”, but he believes that the secret to the team’s success “is all about people. We have recruited the best and most professional people for all the key positions.”

At the top of this list is Adrian Newey, its chief technical officer, who joined from the rival McLaren team in 2006 on an estimated £8m annual salary.

Red Bull’s performance has steadily improved since then and Mr Mateschitz said that “the goal is to reach the top as quickly as possible and stay there for as long as possible”.

Mr Mateschitz said: “The only success and return on investment is the marketing value, which depends on the race performance and results.”