I decided to continue my support of RBR by purchasing my second ever can of Red Bull. Looking at the fine print, I noticed that it has a higher viscosity than the oil in my car. Maybe RBR is running it in their oil...that could explain their good start to the season. I'll send a case to JV and hope it works for him, too. RBR for #5 slot this year!
One thing that interests me is seeing how the Ferrari drivers seemingly consume it before sessions, despite them having no financial agreement with the company (to my knowledge) and also the fact that it causes dehydration, and is toxic in high enough quantities. So are the alertness and concentration benefits really worth it? Or maybe they're consuming some sort of Reb Bull branded sports water (that I've never heard of)? To be honest I've never taken a sip of any of these high caffeine 'energy' drinks. Can anyone shed some light?
Red Bull and the FOM have a contract such that the drivers wile on the start stop grid have to consume a liquid in Red Bull Bottles. The Red Bull Bottles can contain any liquid they want... water, soda or some other beverage. Red Bull has no financial contract with Ferrari.
I love it for racing. One can and I can stay really focused for a while. In Europe people mix it with Vodka as a party stimulant. That is fairly dangerous since the coffeine boosts you up and the alcohol down. Combine that with high doses and a night of partying and you have some collapsed and sometimes dead kids. But in moderate doses it really helps for a short period of time.
Thanks for the info. Where did you find out about this? Quite frankly a very misleading marketing practice IMO, when it gives the impression of drivers consuming a toxic, dehydrating caffeinated substance; a big no no for athletes... especially considering how much fluid F1 drivers lose during a race. For example, Alonso's drink bottle failed early in the race at Malaysia with 35 degree Celcuis + temperatures. We could all see how exhausted he was on the podium and during the press conference. If he had pumped himself up with a drink like Red Bull beforehand, and expected to replenish fluid during the race with the bottle which then subsequently failed... the resultant dehydration + Red Bull in the system could have had catastrophic consequences. Isn't it also illegal to consume caffeine and other stimulants in certain quantities before a race?
A friend of mine that works at Red Bull in Austria had told me about the deal they had in F1. Keep in mind this is prior to the "Red Bull Racing Team" (Jaguar Billboard). Edit: You can take that info at face value. I cannot comment on the ethics of whether or not it is fair marketing. I am not quite sure I understand that question. Do you mean is it illegal under F1 and FIA rules to consume caffeine to certain quantity before a race? OR Do you mean is it illegal under a nation's rules to consume caffeine to certain quantity before a race, depending upon where the race is taking place? If your question is in regards to FIA http://www.fia.com/sport/Regulations/f1regs.html and for medical / doping / substance issues http://www.fia.com/sport/Regulations/medregs.html PS: I hate the FIA. I hate thier new rules that make F1 look like a glorrified lottery.
So is water. Red Bull is (immediately) toxic only in truly enormous quantities - far more than a driver is likely to drink anyway.
Out of curiousity, can you post the ingredients/amounts printed on the can? And tell us what the capacity of a can is? I've heard that the US version is different to ours, but I don't know for sure.
i'm nocturnal and have always found it difficult to remain focussed and even awake between say 10am-2pm if i'm doing office-werk or something. at school i was always drifting off and when i started doing 9-5 i would sit there mid-mornings with my head nodding forward frequently and i'd have a real hard time staying awake through relatively dull werk. i don't drink coffee as i don't like it, but when these energy drinks came along it was like a godsend for me, i was now able to function properly in a day-job. of course the converse of that is that i STILL found it difficult to sleep at night so for the last few years i've been getting by on 3 or 4 hours a night - often less and occasionally none - but usually with a good catch-up sleep every couple of weeks where i'd just write-off a day (hungover ). so i've been drinking 2-3 energy drinks each morning for years now, with my limited experience of other caffienated stuff i think the effects are largely similar to a cup of coffee, i haven't noticed any dehydrative effects. my favourite of these drinks was "Black Stallion", that's the only one that actually tasted good, but it went off the market a couple years ago. (if anyone can track down some of that stuff i'd be giddy with joy) since then i've been on sugarless V, which does me just fine and the taste is okay. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login