Of all the teams in Formula 1, Red Bull certainly knows how to have the most fun with their retired cars. In the past, they’ve performed zero-gravity pit stops, done donuts on a hotel’s helipad at 700 ft (213 m) in the air, and even raced them against skiers down snow-covered mountains.
Now, the team’s latest stunt comes in the form of a promotion for the upcoming inaugural Miami Grand Prix, and it sees driver Sergio “Checo” Perez racing the car from New York City to Miami to test out the new track.
The video starts in New York, where a mix-up between Perez and team boss Christian Horner leads him to believe he had to be in Miami “today,” instead of “in May” when the race is scheduled to take place. From there, he can be seen speeding and sliding his way through the streets of New York, but not without stopping at a convenience store in Chinatown to get a Red Bull (of course…). That metaphorical pit stop got him a parking ticket, but the next stop on his journey was a literal pit stop on the side of the road to switch his treaded tires out for some slicks.
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It’s worth noting that the car being driven by Perez isn’t this year’s contender, nor is it last year’s championship-winning machine. Instead, it’s Red Bull’s RB7 from 2011 done up in the team’s modern livery. That’s all the better, though, because it means we get to hear a glorious high-strung V8 scream as the car blasts down the city streets. It’s also worth noting that for obvious reasons, Perez doesn’t actually drive the car all the way from New York to Florida, so through the power of movie magic, the RB7 teleports from Manhattan to the Everglades for the next part of the video.
It’s at that point that we see Perez drifting his way around the wetland’s dirt roads, but his fun is cut short by an alligator blocking his path. Luckily, professional wakeboarder and Red Bull athlete Parks Bonifay just happened to be passing by on his fan boat, and he was able to get rid of the gator. Bonifay then hooks a tow line up to the back of the RB7 and we get to see a bit of his skills as Perez tows him for some barefoot water skiing. After that, Checo finally gets to Miami, but due to the initial mix-up, he arrives to an unfinished track. However, that doesn’t stop him from going for a quick drive through the completed sections after his pit crew opens up the gates.
Overall the video may be a bit cheesy, but that doesn’t make all the wild stunts in it any less impressive, and to see them for yourself, you can check out the full video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7oMM6o96UU