David Coulthard predicted that Sebastian Vettel would win the 2010 World Title which made everyone else in an interview laugh.
Red Bull as an F1 team joined the sport in 2005. However, they first showed signs of becoming a top team in 2009 when they finished second behind Brawn GP in the Constructors’ Championship Standings.
That year, there was a lot of discussion over who would take over the Championship in 2010 since Brawn had left F1. A lot of people had their money on Ferrari and McLaren, but not many considered Red Bull.
During a show with BBC, the reporter asked F1 pundits who they thought would win the Title in 2010. Three of the four pundits stuck with Ferrari and McLaren but it was Coulthard who said Red Bull without hesitation. Even while discussing who the Drivers’ Champion would be, Coulthard was adamant that it would be Sebastian Vettel.
Coulthard is a former Red Bull driver himself, so he clearly knew something the others didn’t about the team’s development. However, at that moment, everyone in the room laughed when the Brit hinted at a period of Vettel’s dominance.
Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull dominated F1 for four seasons
Vettel won the 2010 World Championship after an exciting Title battle that involved the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. However, that wasn’t the limit for Red Bull, who went on to create even more dominance in the years to come.
The German driver ended up winning three more World Titles in the next three years. Red Bull as a team also clinched four consecutive Constructors’ World Titles between 2010 and 2013, and dominated everyone else.
Is Red Bull’s era of domination returning once again?
After winning both Championships in 2013, Red Bull went through a major dip in from. The kickstart of the turbo-hybrid era in 2014 was something they didn’t cope with very well and as a result, their baton of dominance was passed over to Mercedes.
The Silver Arrows ended up winning eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships from 2014 to 2021. Lewis Hamilton joined them in 2013 and the Brit won six Titles with them whereas his rival Nico Rosberg won one in 2016.
It wasn’t until 2021 did a team finally stand up to Mercedes. Max Verstappen and Red Bull took the fight to them and while they weren’t able to win the Constructors’ Title, Verstappen made sure they have a World Champion at their team.
The current F1 season has been a walk in the park for Verstappen who won his second consecutive Title. With just four races to go, Red Bull are 165 points ahead of Ferrari in the standings, so it’s almost certain that they will be back on top as a team once again for the first time since 2013.
