After its first Hollywood tie-in with the blockbuster film Twisters, Red Bull’s sister team Racing Bulls hopes to go much further in blending sport and entertainment, with the ambitious aim of democratising access to the series.
The name change from AlphaTauri to RB, Racing Bulls or VCARB was not without controversy, with the new moniker closely resembling that of the main team, despite aspirations to carve out an image of their own.
Red Bull was F1’s most entertaining team when it joined in 2005, known for its lavish parties and memorable PR activities, including its pit crew dressing up as clone troopers at the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix to promote Star Wars Episode III, and a year later David Coulthard donned a Superman cape to promote Superman Returns.
David Coulthard, Red Bull, retires from the race
Since then, year after year, Red Bull has become a winning machine, keeping most of its original initiatives away from the paddock while the racing team focuses on business.
But in its new guise, Racing Bulls is looking to take the baton forward, having seen the popularity its drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda enjoy among young F1 fans and having secured major sponsorship partners Visa and CashApp.
When the team unveiled its new identity at a launch in Las Vegas, CEO Peter Bayer announced that the company would look to use its youthful, fresh identity to marry F1 with off-track entertainment.
To coincide with the Miami Grand Prix, the team held an event in Miami’s artsy Wynwood neighborhood to launch a unique, colorful livery and, ahead of the Silverstone Grand Prix, concluded a deal with Warner Bros. to promote the hit film Twisters, in keeping with the parent team’s tradition.
This is just the first step in Bayer’s ambitions away from the track, not only to offer its partners good value for money, but also to expand the team’s following among young people and the different demographics that F1 is actively pursuing.
“The promotion in Miami was probably the best example of what we are trying to achieve,” Bayer tells Motorsport.com.
“We want to make sure we democratise the sport with activities that everyone is welcome to participate in, a combination of Formula 1 content mixed with music, art and culture.”
“We’ve continued with the Twisters movie and we have a couple of other film collaborations coming up, but we’re also going to continue to push everything that’s music, because we believe it’s one of those universal languages that everyone understands.”
RB launched a colorful one-off livery at a car wash event in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood.
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
“We try to do things outside of Formula 1 because a lot of people can’t come to the races, either because it’s sold out or because it’s too expensive. So we feel like there’s a group of young people that aren’t being served to the extent that I think we should be.”
“We have young female fans joining us and that’s exactly what we believe is a huge opportunity.”
“I spoke to Daisy Edgar-Jones, the lead actress in Twisters, and she told me that she gets together with all her friends to watch the series on Netflix and follow the results and the pilots.”
“It’s something that, honestly, was unheard of a couple of years ago. Formula 1 would have been an experience for guys like me with five friends and a couple of beers!”
Why does Bayer think RB – or VCARB, as he prefers to call the team – has been so attractive to Hollywood sponsors and activations?
“I think it’s because there’s a new kid on the block, doing things differently and trying to reach the different audiences that we have,” he explains.
“Formula 1 gives us all this data and insights and, from what I remember, we are the team with the most balanced fan base between men and women, we have the youngest time base. And that’s the perfect target for the film as well.”
Yuki Tsunoda, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, signs autographs for fans
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
When pointed out that this kind of partnership would have been a Red Bull partnership just a few years ago, not the sister team, he nods: “Yes, that’s right. Obviously it’s part of the Red Bull DNA. Red Bull could have done the partnership, but it just suits us better.
“We always refer to Red Bull as the big brother, which is true in many ways. They are fighting for the world championship. They also have a couple of big corporate partners and probably have less leeway in some areas.”
“Also, everything had to happen very quickly. [a Silverstone] and we still have that space, not only physically on the car, but we also have the ability to adopt a partnership like Twisters, which is a win-win situation.”
“A lot of people have talked about synergies and how we can help each other and work together. The truth is that from a technical point of view there is not much to gain, but from a communications and marketing point of view there are many opportunities to collaborate in a very meaningful way.”
According to Bayer, the team’s commercial initiatives have also impressed F1 and its CEO Stefano Domenicali, because it is exactly the direction Liberty Media wants to give the series.
“We will continue with our off-track activities, we have a couple of exciting livery changes and launch events planned,” he added.
“Formula 1 has been extremely supportive and appreciates what we do. I speak to Stefano often. He loves it because it’s exactly how he and Liberty Media see the sport growing.”
“Look at the event at Silverstone, where there is a simply incredible fan celebration. There are live bands and there is more and more. Today a Grand Prix is much more than just a race weekend.”
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