Consistency is King

Fifteen years ago today I awoke after a late night and for a split second didn’t know where I was or why I felt a little ‘fuzzy’. Then I remembered; my team, Jordan Grand Prix, had just won its first Formula One race, the Belgian Grand Prix. More than that, we had scored a 1-2 finish with Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher, the first team in the history of Formula One to achieve such a feat on its maiden win. We’d had a little party and, being an Irish team, we opted to not waste the champagne by spraying it too much…

It had been quite a day; a race of accidents, of rain, of strategy and nerve. It was also a race at which all our key sponsors were in attendance, the Jordan fan club was there for its annual outing, and for the first and only time in our history we had arranged for our factory staff to enjoy a trip to a race. There were two coachloads of them. Quite simply, we couldn’t have chosen a more dramatic race to win, at a better venue and in front of all of the people who mattered most to us.

For Jordan, a small independent team, that victory was to be one of four Grand Prix wins we achieved, and it remains a source of pride that, for a few seasons at least, we proved to be a thorn in the side of of giant teams of Formula One.

This year’s Belgian Grand Prix was by no means the thriller that I enjoyed in 1998, for it was an entirely dry race – both in terms of weather and level of drama. Red Bull Racing won, Sebastian Vettel dominating after starting from 2nd place on the grid and making the most of an error by Lewis Hamilton at the top of Raidillon on the first lap. Thereafter the German was totally in control.

This was no edge-of-the-seat race drama but a metronomic performance, ticking off the laps to victory. It was Vettel’s 5th win of the 2013 season, from 11 races, but it took him to 46 points in front of his nearest rival in the Driver’s World Championship. When he hasn’t won he has made certain of scoring 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed finishes, racking up the points, adding to his tally.

Heading inexorably towards his fourth successive World Championship title, Vettel and his team benefit not only from having produced the fastest car in Formula One, but also one that allows for consistency on every type of track. You can’t win all the races all the time, but the tops teams in F1 have long since recognised that consistency is key, and at this Red Bull Racing is doing a much better job than any of their rivals. Ferrari, Mercedes and Lotus have each won races this year, but none has been able to easily replicate their success and thus their fortunes have fluctuated both in qualifying and the races.

A skilled driver, a great team and a superbly engineered product have given Red Bull Racing the tools to win, but their master stroke has been to comprehensively outperform their rivals over time. Their consistency will make them kings again this year.