Red Bull Racing and Daniel Ricciardo recently completed a demonstration run at the ExxonMobil head office in Houston with Mobil One’s the grid there to film all the action. In this first public event between Red Bull Racing and ExxonMobil staff and guests were treated to a series of demonstration laps in the infamous Red bull Racing show car.
Fans of F1 livery design will note this is the first official time ExxonMobil branding, in the form of Mobil One, Esso & Exxon have been seen on a Red Bull Racing F1 car. The positioning replicates that of the teams previous fuel and lubricant supplier. It is highly likely that the livery seen in this demonstration run will be the livery the team use across 2017.
Getting behind the wheel of any racing machinery after the long winter break is always a thrill for F1 drivers, Ricciardo’s joy in taking part in this event (despite the temperatures) is clear for all to see!
As the season gets underway it is expected that similar to other sponsors transitioning from rival teams to Red Bull Racing, ExxonMobil will be keen to embrace the party lifestyle of the brand in a bid to engage with a younger demographic. It will be interesting to monitor how this evolution in Formula One activation by the brand takes shape.
From a business to business perspective, Red Bull Racing don’t (yet) have an automotive manufacturer backing the team, a typical B2B partnership opportunity for a Fuel & Lubricant supplier. The form of partnership we can expect Red Bull and ExxonMobil will be around the Energy drink becoming a prominently displayed / preferred beverage in all Esso / Exxon service stations in the months and years to come.
Wilde Consulting 