11 years ago today: First pole position for Red Bull Racing

The Shanghai International Circuit has been organizing Grands Prix since 2004 and has seen many different races. We have seen exciting rain races and boring races that ended quickly. The qualifying at the circuit in China is an interesting one. Because of the long straight in the third sector, position on the track is very important.

Today we're going to look at a qualifying session you must have seen. Out of all qualifiers one jumps above the rest. On April 18, 2009, 11 years ago today, the qualification was scheduled for the Chinese Grand Prix of 2009. The year of Brawn-Mercedes and the rise of Red Bull Racing. This qualification will go down in history as the first pole position for a Red Bull car.

First dominant weekend

Behind the wheel of the Red Bull cars in 2009 were Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. Until the race in Shanghai the best result for Red Bull was a third place, and in the 2009 season they had not yet moved up to sixth place. In China, however, it was a totally different picture. Vettel and Webber were at the front of the field all the time.

During qualifying this was also recognizable. Vettel finally managed to take pole position for Red Bull for the first time. Behind him it was Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber who formed the top 3. This qualification was by far the best for Red Bull until that moment, and a lot of great things would follow in the years to come.