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legendthatexists · 2 years ago

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Sebastian Vettel and the Mystery of Randy Mandy...

i.e. Would anyone like some utterly pointless but mildly intriguing information? Because here it is. It started with this photo and its caption sending me down a distinctly 2010-shaped rabbit hole.

↪ "ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - NOVEMBER 13: A detail view of the name 'Divine' of the car of Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Red Bull Racing team is pictured during qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit on November 13, 2010 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates."

Hang on... 'Divine'? The 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix? But Sebastian's winning RB6 was called Randy Mandy - he even said so himself. What is happening here?

Well, as it turns out, the story goes something like this...

Heartened by the achievements of 2009, Red Bull brought their RB6 to winter testing in Spain with high hopes. Their optimism was not unwarranted. The car, equipped with chassis 01 for the tests, looked to be a promising challenger, and the team came away from the sessions satisfied and ready to get things underway at the first race of the 2010 World Championship - calendar for reference throughout.

(This is a tale of many chassis, so to avoid using the word a thousand times, I'm mostly referring to them just by number.)

Before the season began, Sebastian Vettel announced to the world that he would be continuing his tradition of naming his cars, and turned up to the first round in Bahrain to race in Luscious Liz, chassis 03. Mark Webber's sadly unnamed counterpart carried 02.

The race came and went with minimal drama for the team. But at the next round in Australia, Webber had been switched to 04, formally intended to be the spare, as it was slightly lighter.

The team continued like this, with Webber driving 04, and Vettel 03, for the next several rounds, up until the Turkish Grand Prix. Vettel had been unhappy with the car in Spain and in Monaco, and upon inspection the team discovered some hairline fractures in 03, so assigned him 02, used only once by Webber in the opening round, for the race in Turkey.

Although he dropped the habit from 2011 onwards, Vettel had previously been known to rename his car after a chassis change, doing so when one occurred after the first race of the season in 2009. Following this tradition, he quickly dubbed his updated RB6 Randy Mandy. All of this information was reported by the relevant racing media when it occurred. News articles are still easily found online.

↪ Vettel's Randy Mandy, pictured at her outing during the European Grand Prix in Valencia.

Once again, this chassis allocation remained for several rounds, until Silverstone. Here, Webber was given Vettel's used, faulty, but now patched up 03, as Webber had... somewhat damaged his 04 upon descending from the Valencian skies. A quick aside, but his Silverstone win therefore came in that 03 chassis, which Red Bull let him keep as a memento after the season was done. Ergo Mark Webber technically owns Luscious Liz?

But I digress. To recap so far: Both drivers tested 01. Vettel drove 03 up to and including Monaco, after which he received 02 due to small defects in 03. Webber ran his opening weekend in 02, switched to the lighter 04, then damaged it in Valencia and had to drive Vettel's fixed-up 03. Got it?

Chassis-tracking becomes a lot simpler after the summer break: Webber changed to the new 06 for the weekend in Japan, and Vettel to the equivalent 05 immediately after the summer break. His updated car was pictured in Spa with that intriguing new name: Divine. Although this information was available in the usual technical documents and FIA releases, the chassis changes were not covered by the media, and the new name was never mentioned, and isn't listed on Vettel's website. There are a lot of well-documented discussions about the changes that took place from online in 2010, with reference to the technical info. Still, the only confirmation of the name change is in photos, or squinting at 2010 onboard quality. And yet, there are several photos and onboards, and it's stated plain as day in the caption I quoted at the beginning...

Save for Webber using and promptly crashing 03 in Korea, the two drivers saw out their seasons with their new chassis. Meaning that Vettel, it appears, drove to Red Bull's maiden championship, and indeed to his very own, in a car christened Divine.

↪ Her nameplate was pictured in the garage at Spa. It can also be seen in this photo, on the grid just before the deciding final Grand Prix of 2010.

↪ Vettel's chassis label at Yas Marina. (Apologies for the quality - it's a photo I took of a photo in this book).

TL;DR In 2010, Sebastian Vettel not only switched chassis after Monaco, but also after Hungary. Given his then-tradition of giving each new chassis a new name and as told by photographs, he won his first championship in a car that was called Divine; not Randy Mandy as we all thought..

This is relevant to absolutely nothing and nobody in real life but I found it somewhere between slightly and mildly interesting, and thought others might too :)

photos 1 & 2 by Vladimir Rys, photo 3 by Mark Thompson. Via Getty.

#sebastian vettel #mark webber #red bull #2010 f1 season #abu dhabi gp 2010 #divine #rb6 #took me forever to pull everything together so figured i might as well share for other enjoyers of sebastian + sports minutiae 👍

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youjustwaitsunshine · 1 year ago

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Very Long 2010 pre-season Seb Post

Under the cut you will find posts from the sebsite which include:

The RB6 car launch + RB6 specs

Seb's test days in Jerez

Test days in Barcelona (original in german + my english translation)

a short blurb on the name of the car

some pictures

masterpost // pre-season 2010

10 | 02 | 10

2010 Car Launch

Sebastian Vettel | Driver – Car 5

Sebastian Vettel’s first foray into Formula One saw him fined for speeding in the pitlane during the first ten seconds of his debut. It’s fair to say he hasn’t slowed down much since.

Fame and fortune hasn’t made any discernable impact on Seb (“What fortune?” he asks, bewildered). He still gives his cars girl’s names, argues that there are more exciting things in life than driving Formula One cars (but not many) and is proud of being taller than Rubens Barrichello. He loathes being referred as ‘the new Schumacher,’ and so is relieved to see his Race of Champions team-mate returning to F1.

Born 3 July 1987 in the town of Heppenheim, Germany, Sebastian enjoyed a successful career in karting before making an immediate impression the moment he came into open-wheel racing. Starting the 2003 season aged 15, he won five of 19 races in his debut Formula BMW year, finishing second in the German Championship. The next year he took the title, winning 18 of the 20 races (he finished on the podium in the other two but doesn’t like to talk about them).

It marked Vettel as one to watch and he duly tested F1 cars for Williams and BMW-Sauber, while moving up through the junior ranks, impressing in Formula 3 and the World Series by Renault. Vettel’s chance in F1 came when he replaced Robert Kubica as BMW-Sauber’s third driver in the second half of the 2006 season. In addition to incurring the Stewards’ wrath, Vettel’s debut during Friday practice for the Turkish Grand Prix also saw him finish the day top of the timesheets.

While the performance on track was impressive, everyone was equally knocked out by the confidence and effervescence with which the teenage Seb dealt with the garage and Paddock. The authority with which he spoke and the evident self-deprecating wit stood him out as much as the blistering pace.

Sebastian finally got his chance to race a year later, standing in for the injured Kubica at the United States Grand Prix. Still only 19, he qualified seventh and finished eighth, becoming the youngest man to score a Championship point. Later in the 2007 season he moved to a permanent seat at Scuderia Toro Rosso. He made a lasting impression on future team-mate Mark Webber (and the rear of his car) during the monsoon-hit Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji before bouncing back a week later to secure fourth place at an equally waterlogged Chinese Grand Prix.

Confirmed for 2008, Vettel didn’t have the best start to his first full season and crashed out of the first four races, mostly as a result of being dragged into other drivers’ accidents. Fortunately the crash-magnet curse was soon lifted and Vettel scored points at Monaco, Montreal, Hockenheim, Valencia, Spa, Singapore, Fuji and Interlagos – though the only race anyone properly remembers is the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

On the back of a strong fifth place in Belgium, Vettel and Scuderia Toro Rosso went to Italy in good form. Torrential rain over the weekend failed to dampen their pace and Vettel duly became, first, the youngest driver to take pole position in Formula One history, and then the youngest race winner, having utterly dominated the race in which a rudder may have been of more use than a steering wheel.

Elevated to the senior Red Bull team for 2009, Vettel won his second, and Red Bull Racing’s first, victory at the third race of the year. He followed it with a string of podium and solid points-scoring finishes and established himself as a firm championship contender with a second, commanding victory in the British Grand Prix. He finished the season strongly with further victories in Japan and Abu Dhabi that, together with four other podium finishes, took him to second place in the Drivers’ Championship.

Definitely a follower of the ‘second is first of the losers’ philosophy, Sebastian has loftier ambitions for 2010. He lists his lifetime ambitions as winning the Formula One World Championship and beating Kimi Räikkönen at badminton.

RB6 – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

Chassis: Composite monocoque structure, designed and built in-house, carrying the Renault V8 engine as fully stressed member

Transmission: Seven-speed gearbox, longitudinally mounted with hydraulic system for power shift and clutch operation. AP Racing clutch

Wheels: OZ Racing, Front: 12.0in x 13in diam., Rear: 13.7in x 13in diam.

Tyres: Bridgestone

Suspension: Front: Aluminium alloy uprights, carbon-composite double wishbone with springs and anti-roll bar, Multimatic dampers

Rear: Aluminium alloy uprights, carbon-composite double wishbone with springs and anti-roll bar, Multimatic dampers

Brakes: Brembo calipers, Brembo carbon discs and pads

Electronics: FIA (MESL) standard control unit

Fuel: Total Group

Renault Engine RS27 – 2010

Number of cylinders: 8

Capacity: 2400cc

Max rpm: 18,000rpm

Number of valves: 32

Vee angle: 90 degrees

Power output: Not disclosed

Engine construction: Cylinder block in cast aluminium

Engine management: FIA (MESL) standard control unit TAG310B

Oil: Total Group

Weight: FIA minimum weight of 95kg

important: the picture on the left is - on the sebsite - called 'sebi-vettel'

10 | 02 | 10

Sebastian and the RB6

It was windy, it was cold - rain was just a matter of time. Sebastian‘s face was nearly covered by his Beanie cap, but despite the dark clouds he was in really good mood. The reason why? It was the moment when his new car was unveiled. Sebastian laughs: „Finally we are back on the track - the winter break was far too long."

Sebastian stands in front of his car and proudly he gives a short version explanation: „We were lucky to have the best of all cars during the second half of the season. That means we had a very good base right from the beginning, so we just had to develop the car. In contrast some of the opponents had to develop completely new designed cars."

The only real new part: „I got a new seat, it‘s like having a new chair. Beside that in general all the more than thousand parts of a Formula One car have been optimised. "I have a feeling I can reach my target"… So far I have not made a decision regarding the car‘s name. So ideas are welcomed.More next Friday: Today and tomorrow my team mate Mark will do the shake down and the first laps.

On Friday it will be my turn and so on Friday evening I will able to give you further information, about how the RB6´s handling qualities.

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Jerez Test

12 | 02 | 10

JEREZ TEST – Day Three

Driver: Sebastian Vettel

Car: RB6 – 01

Laps: 59

Best time: 1.21.783

Circuit length: 4.423 km

Fastest lap: J. Alguersuari – 1:19.919

Sebastian Vettel drove Red Bull Racing’s 2010 championship challenger, the RB6, for the first time today, as he took over from Mark Webber on day three of the current four-day test in Jerez.

After an initial run on dry tyres, Sebastian was forced to use intermediate and extremes for the rest of the day as wet weather set in from 0945hrs. The team’s plan was to focus on aero-testing, but progress was hampered by deteriorating weather. By 1615hrs, conditions were so wet on track that Red Bull Racing, in line with the other Formula One teams testing in Jerez, decided to end the session early. Despite the weather, the car ran without any problems today.

Sebastian Vettel commented; “After three months, it was good to come back and drive the car – it felt okay and we didn’t have any big issues. Obviously the weather is not ideal for us to find out more about the car, but we knew the rain was coming so we didn’t mess around this morning and went straight out to do some laps. It then rained all day, but you could face these conditions in a grand prix, so it’s important to do laps in the wet. Overall, we didn’t do enough because of the weather, but I’m pretty happy.”

Sebastian will be driving the RB6 again tomorrow for the last day of this current preseason F1 test at the Jerez Circuit.

2010 Rider on the Storm

Sebastian Vettel | Driver – Car 5

"You can't influence the weather, we have seen that today. After a three month break, I was finally able to sit in the car today and it was good fun, I am still able to drive and the car feels good. This morning I did some (a few) laps in the dry the car went well straight away, but then it started raining and I had to park the car for some time in the garage. For sure it's a shame that it wasn't dry all day but also its possible to have rain in a race and so you have to learn to keep up with diffrent weather conditions. At the moment its still very difficult to give an idea of where everybody stands due to the new rules and the big tanks. The teams are driving with diffrent fuel levels and this also keeps changing. I hope it continues raining over night so that nothing is left for tomorrow and I can speed though all day, but as I said we have to see as we can't tell mother nature what to do..."

13 | 02 | 10

JEREZ TEST – Day Four

Driver: Sebastian Vettel

Car: RB6 – 01

Laps: 90

Best time: 1.21.203

Circuit length: 4.423 km

Fastest lap: L. Hamilton – 1.19.583

Sebastian Vettel was at the wheel of Red Bull Racing’s RB6 today for the final day of the current Jerez test. It was his second day of testing, as Mark Webber had driven on days one and two.

The team’s plan was to focus on set-up work and aero testing, although the weather once again played a part and damp conditions in the morning meant Sebastian began the day on intermediate tyres.

Conditions dried by lunchtime, but a fuel pump failure in the afternoon cost the team around three hours of dry running time. Sebastian ended the day with a final long run on dry tyres.

At the end of the RB6’s first test, Ian Morgan, Head of Race Engineering said: “It’s been a productive first week with the RB6, despite the weather and lack of dry conditions. We’re pleased with the car overall, it’s showing a lot of promise.�� The next test will take place at the Jerez Circuit, starting on Wednesday 17 February.

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Barcelona Test

26 | 02 | 10

Barcelona Test - Tag 2 (english version below)

Sebastian Vettel | Fahrer – RB6-01

Auto: RB6-01

Runden: 125

Bestzeit: 1.21,258 Min.

Streckenlänge: 4,655 km

Tagesschnellster: N. Hülkenberg (1.20,614 Min.)

Das Team fuhr seine zweite Rennwochenend-Simulation, und am Ende des Tages hatte Sebastian 125 Runden zurückgelegt.

Ian Morgan, Head of Race Engineering, sagte: „Heute erlebten wir in etwa eine Wiederholung der Renn-Simulation, die Mark gestern gefahren war. Alles lief mehr oder weniger nach Plan. Erneut stoppten wir das Auto während der Renn-Simulation. Dabei handelte es sich um eine Vorsichtsmaßnahme, um einige Dinge kontrollieren zu können. Es ging um ein kleines Problem, und wir konnten schon wenig später weiterfahren. Sebastian konnte die Simulation vor Ende des Testtages in voller Länge beenden. Wir drehten viele Runden und sind recht happy, was das Auto angeht."

Sebastian Vettel meinte: „Das war ein guter Tag - größere Probleme traten nicht auf. Im Verlauf des Nachmittags mussten wir wegen einer Kleinigkeit unterbrechen, aber bei Testfahrten ist das ziemlich normal. Während der Tests will man keine Schäden riskieren. Aus diesem Grund ist es am besten, das Auto abzustellen, sobald es im Hintergrund Alarmsignale gibt. Weil es in Jerez oft regnete, haben wir an den beiden kommenden Tagen noch viel Arbeit vor uns. Beispielsweise müssen wir mehr über die Reifen herausfinden und einige Abstimmungsarbeiten erledigen."

Sebastian Vettel wird morgen erneut zum Einsatz kommen, bevor Mark das Cockpit am Sonntag, dem letzten Testtag, wieder übernehmen wird.

Barcelona Test - Day 2

Driver: Sebastian Vettel

Car: RB6 – 01

Laps: 125

Best time: 1.21.285

Circuit length: 4.655 km

Fastest lap: N. Hülkenberg – 1:20.614

The team drove its second race simulation, and at the end of the day Sebastian had completed 125 laps.

Ian Morgen, Head of Race Engineering said; “Today we experienced about a repeat of the race simulation that Mark drove yesterday. Everything went more or less according to plan. We again stopped the car during the simulation. This was a safety measure to control a few things. It was a small problem and we could continue soon after. Sebastian could finish the race simulation in full length before end of the test day. We ran many laps and are quite happy about the car.”

Sebastian Vettel said: “This was a good day – no large problems showed up. During the course of the afternoon we had to take a break due to a small thing, but that’s pretty normal with testing drives. On test days you don’t want to risk damage. For that reason it’s best to stop the car once there’s alarms in the background. Because it rained a lot in Jerez, we have a lot of work to do in the coming few days. For example we have to find out more about the tires and do a bit of coordination work.”

Sebastian Vettel will take the wheel again tomorrow before passing it back again to Mark on Sunday, the last test day.

Barcelona Test - Tag 3 (english below)

Sebastian Vettel | Fahrer – RB6-02

Auto: RB6-02

Runden: 44

Bestzeit: 1.23,123 Min.

Streckenlänge: 4,655 km

Tagesschnellster: N. Rosberg (1.20,686 km)

Sebastian Vettel absolvierte in Barcelona beim letzten Test vor Saisonbeginn seinen zweiten Testtag. Der Tag wurde durch Regen beeinträchtigt. Morgens wurden wegen eines Mix aus Regenschauern und technischen Problemen nur wenige Runden gefahren. Der Nachmittag erwies sich als wertvoller, denn das Team arbeitete an der Abstimmung für das erste Rennen der Saison in Bahrain. Seine Bestzeit erreichte Sebastian während seiner letzten Runde des Tages. Ian Morgan, Head of Race Engineering, sagte: „Nach den nächtlichen Umbauarbeiten mit Blick auf das für heute geplante Programm waren wir morgens wegen einiger technischer Probleme spät dran. Nachdem wir nachmittags richtig zum Fahren kamen, gelangen uns drei, vier Tests bezüglich der Abstimmungsrichtung für das Rennen in Bahrain. Sie brachten uns klare Resultate. Entsprechend beendeten wir den Tag in deutlich besserer Form." Am morgigen letzten Testtag werden sich Sebastian und Mark Webber das Auto teilen.

Barcelona Test - Day 3

Driver: Sebastian Vettel

Car: RB6 – 01

Laps: 44

Best time: 1:23.123

Circuit length: 4.655 km

Fastest lap: N. Rosberg – 1:20.686

Sebastian Vettel finished his second test day in Barcelona at the last test before the start of the season. The day was affected by rain. In the morning only few laps were run due to a mix of rain showers and technical problems. The afternoon showed to be more useful because the team worked on the race setup for the first race of the season in Bahrain. Sebastian reached his best time during the last lap of the day. Ian Morgan, Head of Race Engineering said; “After the nightly work in view of the program planned for the day we were late due to a few technical problems in the morning. After we got to driving in the afternoon, we managed to do three, four setup tests for the race in Bahrain. Those brought us clear results. Accordingly we finished the day in much better form.“ Tomorrow, on the last test day, Sebastian and Mark Webber will be sharing the car.

28 | 02 | 10

Barcelona Test - Tag 4 (english below)

Sebastian Vettel | Fahrer – RB6-02

Eigentlich wären meine Tests am Samstag abgeschlossen gewesen, aber durch die schlechten Wetterverhältnisse bin ich nicht auf meine gewünschten Kilometer gekommen.

Deswegen haben wir uns darauf geeinigt, dass ich am Sonntagvormittag nochmal ins Auto steige.

Am Freitag haben wir eine Rennsimulation gemacht, das verlief mehr oder weniger alles nach Plan. Jetzt muessen wir das erste Rennen in Bahrain abwarten, heute in 14 Tagen, wo alle die Hosen runterlassen... Wir müssen bis Bahrain noch etwas an unserem Topspeed arbeiten, aber insgesamt bin ich ganz zufrieden mit meinem Auto. Übrigens: Einen Namen habe ich auch schon, aber den werde ich erst am Montag vor dem GP in Bahrain auf meiner Website bekanntgeben...

Fahrer: Sebastian Vettel/Mark Webber

Auto: RB6-02

Runden: 137 (Vettel – 76; Webber – 61)

Bestzeit: Vettel: 1.20,667 Min.

Streckenlänge: 4,655 km

Tagesschnellster: L. Hamilton (1.20,472 Min.)

Nachdem er gestern auf der Piste weniger Zeit als erwartet verbracht hatte, kam Sebastian vormittags zum Einsatz, während Mark unsere Vorbereitungen auf die neue Saison nachmittags beendete. Die beiden Fahrer standen vor ähnlichen Programmen, die das Team erfolgreich bewältigte. Die vorläufig endgültigen Abstimmungen für unterschiedliche Tankfüllungen beim Saisonbeginn wurden gefunden.

Ian Morgan, Head of Race Engineering, sagte: „Weil wir gestern etwas Zeit verloren hatten, konnten wir mit Seb nicht alles abhaken, was wir uns vorgenommen hatten. Aus diesem Grund erledigten wir heute mehr oder weniger das Pensum von eineinhalb Testtagen, weshalb wir auf insgesamt 137 Runden kamen. Das war ein ziemlicher Wirbel, aber wir haben viel geschafft.

Der letzte Test verlief gut für uns. Nach eingeschränkten Testmöglichkeiten auf trockenem Asphalt während der beiden Tests in Jerez, hatten hier die fast komplett trockenen vier Testtage zur Folge, dass wir wieder auf Kurs kamen. Im Verlauf der Woche machten wir große Fortschritte. Das waren sehr gute Testfahrten."

Zwei Wochen trennen uns nun noch vom ersten WM-Lauf der Saison, dem Grand Prix von Bahrain.

Barcelona Test - Day 4

Usually, my Tests would have concluded on Saturday, but due to the bad weather conditions I did not get to the distance I wanted. Because of that we agreed that I’d get back into the car Sunday morning. On Friday we did a race simulation where everything went more or less according to plan. Now we need to wait for the first race in Bahrain, today in two weeks, where everyone will drop their pants… We’ll have to work on our top speed until then, but all in all I’m rather happy with the car. By the way: I have a name already, but I’ll only share that one on my website the Monday before the GP…

Drivers: Sebastian Vettel/Mark Webber

Car: RB6-02

Laps: 137 (Vettel – 76; Webber – 61)

Best time: Vettel: 1:20.667

Circuit length: 4,655 km

Fastest lap: L. Hamilton – 1:20.472

After he spent less time on the track than expected, Sebastian was in the car in the morning, while Mark finished our preparations for the new season in the afternoon. Both drivers followed similar programs that the team successfully completed. The provisionally final setups for different tank fillings were found.

Ian Morgan, Head of Race Engineering, said; ”Because we lost some time yesterday, we couldn’t finish everything we set out to do with Seb. For that reason we went over more or less one and a half test days worth of work, which got us to 137 laps. That was a lot of turmoil but we managed to do a lot.

The last test went well for us. After limited testing opportunities on dry track during the tests in Jerez, the almost fully dry four days of testing here let us get back on course. During the course of the week we took great steps. These were very good test drives.”

Two weeks still separate us from the first World Championship race, the Bahrain GP.