Since 2005, the energy drink company has been involved in F1 through its two teams, Red Bull and AlphaTauri, formerly known as Toro Rosso. The Austrian company has invested heavily in its F1 project to become one of the best sides in the sport. But in return, Red Bull has raked in billions and expanded its footprint, reveals Adrian Newey in his book “How To Build A Car“.
The team which entered the sport by owning Jaguar has gone on to become one of the successful sides in the sport. And that has increased their popularity immensely. But teams that enter F1 are usually car companies, and they intend to boost their sales with their participation.
But Red Bull is an energy drink company. Despite their unconventional profile, they have managed to amass incredible revenue because of F1, and their CTO explains how it happened.
Newey speaks about Red Bull’s financial success since joining F1
In his autobiography, Adrian Newey spoke about Red Bull’s initial years in F1. The 64-year-old CTO reveals that their initial involvement in the sport was mainly to boost their brand image.
Red Bull’s owner Dietrich Mateschitz saw potential in boosting their brand image when they were involved with Sauber from 1995 to 2004. When Sebastian Vettel dominated F1 between 2010 to 2014, the value of the brand skyrocketed.
A Formula One car doing donuts to parallel park in New York City is your monthly reminder that Red Bull sells more than $7 billion of energy drinks annually solely by being the best marketing company in the world.
(🎥: @redbullmotors) pic.twitter.com/bXPGuPxaEQ
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) October 12, 2021
“Between 2000 and 2014, Red Bull gained an estimated $2 billion in advertising simply by being involved in F1,” reveals Newey’s book
The Austrian team’s success brought them extraordinary capital when Red Bull expanded in Asia. In 2005, Red Bull first appeared in the Chinese GP as a constructor. Newey claims that F1 fans in China were surprised when they uncovered that the F1 team also made energy drinks.
How much has Red Bull invested in their F1 teams?
Since acquiring Jaguar, Red Bull has gone from minnows to title contenders. The team had a successful spell between 2010 to 2014 with Sebastian Vettel. Vettel won 4-consecutive titles and delivered the team the constructors championships.
The Austrian team endured a period of no silverware between 2014 to 2020 as Mercedes dominated F1’s Turbo Hybrid era. After a long wait, the team reclaimed the driver’s title in 2021 with Max Verstappen. And in the following year, Verstappen won his second title as the team won their first constructor championship in 9 years.
According to Forbes, the energy drinks team has invested around $2.5 Billion in their two F1 teams. Of, Red Bull Racing has received a major share of the funds. The popularity of F1 has also been reflected in the team’s improved sales in 2022.
In 2022, Red Bull sold over 11.5 Billion cans of their energy drinks, an 18% increase in sales. The company earned over $10.5 Billion thanks to its marketing and success on the track.
