Mateschitz rejects Red Bull ‘crisis’

Thu, 3 May 2007, 10:46

Team owner Dietrich Mateschitz has rejected the description in the Austrian media of a ‘crisis’ this year for the two Red Bull outfits.

Much was expected of the first fully Adrian Newey-penned single seater this year, which is being used not only by Red Bull Racing but also Faenza based Toro Rosso, which is half owned by the Austrian mogul.

Neither outfit, however, is yet to open its points account for the constructors’ championship, despite tussling in pace with rivals in the upper midfield.

“We are in not such a bad condition for a new private team in its third year,” billionaire Mateschitz told the newspaper ‘Welt’.

RBR’s Mark Webber, meanwhile, was notably beaten for pace only by the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen at the Barcelona test on Wednesday, as the Milton Keynes based team trial its new seamless-shift gearbox.

Mateschitz explained that the 2007 car hit the test tracks six weeks late in the winter, after both teams had to switch tyre and engine suppliers at the end of last season.

He added: “And Adrian built a completely new car, where no screw is the same as last year.

“We also have a new wind tunnel which we discovered gave some incorrect numbers when we began to test the car.”

Mateschitz, targeting fifth in the constructors’ title this year, said he is convinced of Red Bull’s foundations and insisted that the team’s “potential is larger than other teams”.

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