F1
Red Bull Racing became Formula One world champions for the first time in 2010, but the road to that historic victory began 15 years earlier when Red Bull first partnered with the Sauber team in 1995.
Although Red Bull Racing didn't make their debut as a Formula One team until 2005, over the previous decade the company's name had already become a familiar and significant one on the Formula One circuit, thanks to a partnership with the Swiss outfit Sauber.
Indeed, in their debut season in 1995, Sauber's livery, emblazoned with the famous logo of their new title sponsor, gave a tantalising preview of what the world championship-winning Red Bull Racing car was going to look like 15 years later.
That first year of the partnership proved an exciting one for the deal makers – the Swiss team’s principal Peter Sauber and Red Bull's founder Dietrich Mateschitz – as the Red Bull Sauber C14, powered by its Ford engine and piloted by the gifted Heinz-Harald Frentzen, delivered the team's first podium finish when the German driver claimed third in the Italian Grand Prix.
Soon, Red Bull Sauber were seen as a solid part of the F1 furniture, and even impressed to the extent of finishing fourth in the 2001 Constructors' Championship, with Nick Heidfeld and Kimi Räikkönen at the wheel.
Following the last year of the decade-long sponsorship, during which Sauber had earned six podium finishes, Red Bull, having served a valuable apprenticeship, were now ready to take the next big leap. They completed the purchase of the Jaguar Racing team in November 2004 and their real F1 dream was about to begin.
