Economics of Racing, why Red Bull should always support Vettel

errlloyd

Right so before I start does everyone accept this.

Red Bull is a company based in Austria that makes drinks. Red Bull doesn't actually sponsor anything in the world, what Red Bull does is owns athletes and teams, and makes those athletes ambassadors for it's drinks. Red Bull hopes these ambassadors will help it sell it's drinks.

So why would it prefer Vettel to win over Webber?

Well firstly Vettel represents a vastly bigger market, I think it's fair to say most of the German speaking world would support a German driver on an Austrian team. Formula one in Germany is at a height of popularity not seen anywhere else outside of the UK.

Don't believe this has an effect? If he wins and becomes a national icon in Germany like Schumacher before him every picture of him has Red Bull in it, every article written about him says he races for Red Bull, every montage has Red Bull.

To make matters worse the branch of the company that owns Red Bull is run by Mateschitz, and we all know from his press statements how much he supports them team. That branch doesn't export to Australia. So Webber winning isn't worth much to them.

Now we have indoctrination. So Webber has mentioned a couple times that he is close to retirement. Age isn't an issue, just he wants to. I have certainly read some articles which back this up. If Vettel wins the championship this year I believe he is the youngest ever. If Red Bull continue to make stupid decisions to help him out, and he does win he'll feel he owes them. He'll feel the team put their reputation on the line for him, and will stick with them even if more lucrative offers come from elsewhere. Lets take a classic example of indoctrination. Michael Schumacher was indebted to Mercedes and Ross Brawn. Mercedes helped his early career, in my opinion that is why he is racing for them this year.

I am in no doubt that Vettel is the most exciting driver in Formula One right now. The guy was winning races in a Toro Rosso. Remember his Quali in China 09, 3 sessions where he could only do one flying lap. Still dominated. Red Bull intend to be in F1 for years to come, this man could spend his whole career with them. He'd a product of their program, at the moment they are providing him with the kit. And while they continue to back him no matter what he will continue to owe them.

This will pay off for Red Bull in the long run.

amacachi

I may be wrong here but I thought German interest in F1 really just follows Schumacher, hence them reverting to one GP a year almost as soon as he retired? I'm open to correction here but Red Bull would need a few years of domination from Vettel to win over the German public.

errlloyd

From all accounts almost no one cared about motor racing in Germany pre-Schumacher, despite support almost halving post retirement, its still far bigger then Australian support.

And once he has a world championship it'll be Michael Whomacher?

lord lucan

amacachi wrote: »

I may be wrong here but I thought German interest in F1 really just follows Schumacher, hence them reverting to one GP a year almost as soon as he retired?

Pretty much although having a Mercedes team with 2 German drivers has helped too. I'm sure some Schumacher fans began to 'support' Vettel following his retirement but there's no question where their loyalties are now that Schumacher is back. Having a German team only gives them more of a flag to rally around.

In all honesty i think the hype with Vettel began with that race win at Monza in the rain. He was suddenly F1's new hotshot. I think RB bought into the hype and placed all their eggs in the Vettel basket. Maybe they were oblivious to Webbers talent or genuinely only seen him as a decent number 2 driver but they've been caught out badly and are spending most of this season putting out fires.

What it does show is the dynamics within F1 teams. I personally don't buy into the lovey-dovey-we're all mates and share all our info-carry on that Button and Hamilton dish out before every race. F1 teams need their drivers to be competitive,otherwise there's no point in racing.

As for the point in the OP,RB have probably gotten more publicity than they could've dreamed of this year. With the shenanigans in Turkey and Silverstone they've gotten tonnes of press. And,as they say,there's no such thing as bad publicity.

errlloyd

lord lucan wrote: »

As for the point in the OP,RB have probably gotten more publicity than they could've dreamed of this year. With the shenanigans in Turkey and Silverstone they've gotten tonnes of press. And,as they say,there's no such thing as bad publicity.

I take that point, Michael O Leary proves it. However I refer you to crashgate and ING pulling out of support for Renault. It says in the RBR constitution they were trying to put the fun back in F1.

And Vettel didn't just win in Monza, he scored more points then DC and Webber put together. Remember him overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the second last lap in Brazil, nearly denied him the world championship. Now I am die hard Schumacher-Ferrari fan (in that order) but even I'll admit Hamilton is pretty decent.

You could argue that the Toro-Rosso was a boat... It seemed to be.

frostie500

I don't think Red Bull show Vettel favoritism because of his nationality, they are a company that sells their product in almost every nation so I can't see them using that as a reason. I think the main reason is age. Red Bull made their name by sponsoring extreme sports and athletes. They target a youthful market and they feel that a smiley 23 year old racer is more conducive for selling their product than a 34 year old.

I would agree with the essence of your original point, that for marketing reasons it is much more beneficial for the company to have Vettel as their first world champion but as I said I think it has more to do with image than nationality.