Oh no, they did not! Although this might not be the most bad-ass move by the Red Bull stunt team, people living in snowy areas will appreciate the kind of effort it would have taken to make this happen. We know how our cars skid on the icy roads, and we have to use chains to prevent it causing our car to spiral out of control. It is still a difficult task to drive with chains on and with enough ice on the ground, even then our cars slip to alarming distances. But, with Red Bull, you don’t ask that kind of actions and say Why not?
The venue was the famous ski slope of Kitzbühel, Austria where Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen ran his racing F1 car on the slopes. The cross-country manoeuvre was to serve a dual function of promoting the Hahnenkamm-Rennen ski races and having some seriously cool advertising for Team Red Bull at the next Grand Prix.
3,500-strong spectators gathered around the slopes to see the car in action. It is the first F1 show run on any of the alpine ski slopes that we can think of. But, before Verstappen was dropped from a helicopter and stepped on the gas, the technical team and engineers had to modify the car to run on the crazy snow slopes. The car was tested in extremely hot weather in Australia where it is summers right now to make it immune to extreme temperature. The team remapped the engine resulting in improved throttle control with no idle acceleration. But, the main feature of the car was, of course, the special set of chains fastened to the tyres just like normal motorists have to do in similar conditions.
Taking an open top F1 car through these slopes may not be the most attractive idea for many people. But, this is Red Bull. It does give you wings!
