Are RB favouring RIC because of personality?

wolfie81 · Post by **wolfie81** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 8:14 am

Many of the questions to CH and VET are about RIC. We all find him relaxed and down to earth with a easy going personality. He is appealing to many fans and many have begun supporting him. We read about RB in the media from newspapers, websites and television and its often about RIC so far in 2014.

Is it possible CH, MH and the marketing boffins are all aware how RIC is putting their RedBull brand forward in a positive light and beginning to prefer him to do well because ultimately it would help their brand better than SV?

SV is a good driver (I have my views on this aspect but its beside the point) and while his interviews and persona is generally ok to the public, it isnt the same as DR.
Afterall, RB is in the business to promote their business, what better way to do it than getting behind a likeable fella to win fans and support.

As for selecting RIC this year ahead of KIMI, it has paid dividends from a marketing/advertising point of view.

5ANDYm · Post by **5ANDYm** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 8:24 am

there both equal every one knows that.

backdoc · Post by **backdoc** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 8:26 am

I may be calling this early, but I suspect my friend, you could be the winner of the most ridiculous thread for 2014; and on Planet F1 forum, that is quite some feat!

wolfie81 · Post by **wolfie81** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 8:29 am

Ridiculous or not, Redbull is getting more attention at the moment because of RIC. If it was swapped with another grid driver...say Massa I argue it wouldnt have the same coverage.

Black_Flag_11 · Post by **Black_Flag_11** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 8:33 am

Red Bull is not favouring anyone.

Vettel is struggling and rather than see them fight on track Horner knows it's best to let Dan go through when he is faster. Dan would receive the same call if Vettel was faster than him and at some point in the future chances are we will hear that call.

The last time an extreme amount of rear downforce was lost from the Red Bull Vettel struggled, it's happening again, Red Bull will be working tirelessly to get as much of that downforce back and Vettel will no doubt be working tirelessly to change his driving style. They will meet somewhere in the middle at some point this year and Vettel will regain his confidence and consistency.

If Webber was his teammate again this year I would say at that point Vettel would have the upper hand again, however with Dan we just don't know. Maybe the higher downforce will also suit Dan & he will find even more pace.

I have little doubt Vettel's performance will improve as the season goes on, but I'm certain Dan will run him close regardless, he is bloody good.

Toby. · Post by **Toby.** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 8:34 am

Red Bull aren't favouring either driver. If Seb was faster than Dan in Bahrain and China, Ricciardo would have received the same message to move over.

wolfie81 · Post by **wolfie81** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 8:36 am

Ok maybe it was a badly worded title, Im looking at this from a marketing perspective.

backdoc · Post by **backdoc** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 8:37 am

wolfie81 wrote:Ridiculous or not, Redbull is getting more attention at the moment because of RIC. If it was swapped with another grid driver...say Massa I argue it wouldnt have the same coverage.

It's got nothing to do with DR's personality. It's Vettels. Everyone is hanging to see him come unstuck, and DR is delivering. It's called "tall poppy syndrome" with a serious dash of arrogance.

mph · Post by **mph** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 8:40 am

I dont agree with Red Bull favouring Dan because of personality, I do however feel they are giving him equal footing for driving ability in the current car. I also have a small feeling Vettel is going to another team next year and some bad blood may be brewing.
In saying that, I do not know of one person disliking Dan or speaking negatively about him, either through his driving or his smiling demeanour.. beating Vettel helps

Zoue · Post by **Zoue** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 8:44 am

wolfie81 wrote:Ok maybe it was a badly worded title, Im looking at this from a marketing perspective.

Any marketing advantages are by accident rather than design IMO. As long as RIC does well they will still get coverage, simply because he's a relative unknown in a top team. Beating VET will get more column inches but if VET was challenging at the front RBR would still get headlines. RBR would prefer to have both drivers fighting it out, so any favouritism, especially at this stage of the season, is imagined IMO.

infi24r · Post by **infi24r** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 8:54 am

The car would have been designed around Vettel's preferences as much as can be possible.

Despite this Ricciardo is still faster than him and beating him. Red Bull are backing the driver that can give them points. They need as many points as they can to keep in reach of Mercedes.

If the situations were reversed, Vettel was faster and Ricciardo was holding him up they'd tell Daniel to move over in an instant.

Mr-E · Post by **Mr-E** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:02 am

Why would Marko leave his baby boy for Dan?

mprules · Post by **mprules** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:18 am

Mr-E wrote:Why would Marko leave his baby boy for Dan?

Because DR is also Marko's baby! Why do you keep repeating this in every thread??

infi24r · Post by **infi24r** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:50 am

mprules wrote:
Mr-E wrote:Why would Marko leave his baby boy for Dan?
Because DR is also Marko's baby! Why do you keep repeating this in every thread??

Yes, but Vettel is German and Germany/Austria have a very close connection. Vettel is his chosen one but for some reason I think 5x WDC is more marketable than 4x WDC beaten by this 1x WDC.

nixxxon · Post by **nixxxon** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:53 am

haha. More like Seb isn't favoured over his team mate anymore.

mph · Post by **mph** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 10:02 am

infi24r wrote:
mprules wrote:
Mr-E wrote:Why would Marko leave his baby boy for Dan?
Because DR is also Marko's baby! Why do you keep repeating this in every thread??
Yes, but Vettel is German and Germany/Austria have a very close connection. Vettel is his chosen one but for some reason I think 5x WDC is more marketable than 4x WDC beaten by this 1x WDC.

Maybe Marko get Austria & Australia mixed up

Irbis · Post by **Irbis** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:46 am

wolfie81 wrote:Is it possible CH, MH and the marketing boffins are all aware how RIC is putting their RedBull brand forward in a positive light and beginning to prefer him to do well because ultimately it would help their brand better than SV?

Or maybe, just maybe, thanks to crap engine current RB feels like last year Toro Rosso, giving Ric advantage for now?

If Vettel doesn't improve his results soon, then we can start conspiracy theories, as it is, all I see in this thread is wishful thinking of bashers without any proof whatsoever.

Seanie · Post by **Seanie** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 12:51 pm

They need Dan to succeed. To prove Vettel wasn't just a fluke.

I doubt it's being spoken of inside Red Bull, but only Sebastian will care if Dan beats him.

sandman1347 · Post by **sandman1347** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 1:30 pm

wolfie81 wrote:Ok maybe it was a badly worded title, Im looking at this from a marketing perspective.

From a marketing perspective? That's absurd. Vettel is the 4-time defending world champion! He is the most marketable thing about their team. You think they want to deflate his image by allowing a relatively unknown and unproven driver beat him!?

AngusWolfe · Post by **AngusWolfe** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 1:42 pm

They're not favouring anyone yet. And if they do, it'll be because one is faster than the other. At the moment, that's Dan.

pokerman · Post by **pokerman** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 1:54 pm

wolfie81 wrote:Ok maybe it was a badly worded title, Im looking at this from a marketing perspective.

But it sort of comes across as making excuses for Vettel

trento · Post by **trento** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 2:46 pm

RB only favors their in house drivers, which happens to be both of them right now. So they will simply favor whoever is faster.

pokerman · Post by **pokerman** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 2:48 pm

Irbis wrote:
wolfie81 wrote:Is it possible CH, MH and the marketing boffins are all aware how RIC is putting their RedBull brand forward in a positive light and beginning to prefer him to do well because ultimately it would help their brand better than SV?
Or maybe, just maybe, thanks to crap engine current RB feels like last year Toro Rosso, giving Ric advantage for now?

If Vettel doesn't improve his results soon, then we can start conspiracy theories, as it is, all I see in this thread is wishful thinking of bashers without any proof whatsoever.

I would think that this year's engine is more powerful than last year's engine?

Seanie · Post by **Seanie** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 3:54 pm

And they're only appearing to be favouring him now because he's out performing Sebastian.

Jeepkhana · Post by **Jeepkhana** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 5:32 pm

Before your straw-man argument of a question can be asked, first you have to answer "IS Red Bull favoring Ricciardo?" There is no concrete proof or pattern of that yet.

Grizzly B · Post by **Grizzly B** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 5:40 pm

backdoc wrote:I may be calling this early, but I suspect my friend, you could be the winner of the most ridiculous thread for 2014; and on Planet F1 forum, that is quite some feat!

I don't think it's ridiculous as a concept, quite the opposite in fact.

Before I begin, I would like to add a disclaimer that I do not agree that Ricciardo is being favoured in any way, shape or form.

With that out of the way... the dominance of Vettel last year led to a dramatic reduction in viewing figures which had a negative effect on F1 as a whole. If that man had a negative impact on the whole sport, what kind of effect did he have on the marketing image of Red Bull? I can assure you it would not have been positive and while Vettel winning every Grand Prix wouldn't have stopped me personally from buying a can of Red Bull, it probably didn't do their sales much good.

Now Red Bull has a likeable guy in the team who is generally considered to be one of the nicest guys in the paddock, surely that will have a positive impact on their brand.

I completely disagree that 1. Red Bull are favouring Ricciardo and that 2. Even if they were that they would do it for any reason other than a sporting one.

silkjet · Post by **silkjet** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 5:46 pm

backdoc wrote:I may be calling this early, but I suspect my friend, you could be the winner of the most ridiculous thread for 2014; and on Planet F1 forum, that is quite some feat!

Silly to you, I can fully understand.

But a tangential question from his inquiry: Does Ricciardo have a more likeable personality than Vettel? I think he does. To me Ricciardo is magnetic.

And it could well translate into a personal advantage (as it likely has in his life overall) with Markko and others.

moby · Post by **moby** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 6:48 pm

He is the new toy. Everyone has seen SV on screen time after time and the interviewers have asked him everything they can think of. They need to fill air time with "interesting" features, and there are few left for SV. I do think there is a lot of support for the underdog too mind.

F1Krof · Post by **F1Krof** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 7:03 pm

Nah, this stuff doesn't not exist in this world. The only reason why somebody favors someone over the other is because of value. Riccardo beating Vettel gives him the trait, no matter how much of a nice guy he is, NO RESULTS = NO VALUE = NO TREATMENT ---> out!

Arai_or_Nothing · Post by **Arai_or_Nothing** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 7:31 pm

The only reason RBR is favoring Ricciardo is because he's able to get the most out of it and bring the team the most points. F1 is such that points = money.

With Vettel admitted struggling to come to terms with the car and Ricciardo absolutely loving it to the point he's able to do more with it, it's common sense that the team will favor Daniel over Seb.

I have to admit Ricciardo has shut me up to this point because I didn't think he had what it took to consistently beat Vettel and he's doing just that and with seeming ease, so to speak. However, the fact that Newey was a no-show in china leads me to bie a that he's working hard on some developments to bring more rear bias to better suit Vettel's tastes so they can both perform at the maximum equally.

I will say that I REALLY loved the tough luck comment though, because it shows Vettel's tenacity and determination to win at all costs and that he will not yield to anyone. The kids got cojones and I like that.

Schumacher forever#1 · Tue Apr 22, 2014 8:55 pm

It's not so much a ridiculous question. Although Ricciardo isn't being favoured, it would be favourable for Red Bull to be an attractable team which would build a fan club. But truly, no. Not with Helmut Marko as the Boss, and with Vettel having so much control. No.

infi24r · Post by **infi24r** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 2:57 am

The media also love to play up an intra team rivalry. If Ricciardo beat Seb this year and Vettel spit the dummy it would be a huge story

Billy · Post by **Billy** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 3:36 am

Re: Are RB favouring RIC because of personality?

Are members responding to troll threads because they have nothing better to do?

slide · Post by **slide** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 7:03 am

after showing more support to vettel for 4 years why would they change that -what can red bull do if Riccardo is quicker, and what can vettel do if he isn't as quick as riccardo

dizlexik · Post by **dizlexik** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 7:06 am

slide wrote:after showing more support to vettel for 4 years why would they change that -what can red bull do if Riccardo is quicker, and what can vettel do if he isn't as quick as riccardo

I don't think Red Bull was ever supporting Vettel because they liked him. He was just better than Webber. Now Riccardo is doing better. Red Bull is doing what is the best for their team, not for the drivers.