Red Bull has done it all over again. A brand that started out as an energy drink maker quickly became known for pushing the boundaries of extreme sports. This time around, Red Bull has upped the ante in the world of breathtaking aerial footage by teaming up with a Dutch group known as Dutch Drone Gods to create a remarkable piece of technology that could keep up with the high-speed action of F1. Max Verstappen found himself in an unexpected challenge against the RBD-1 drone on a lap around the Silverstone circuit. The result is a high-quality F1 chase cam footage that Verstappen thinks could change the way people watch Formula 1.

“I never thought I would see a drone going so fast just to record camera footage,” said Max Verstappen when he first saw what the drone could do. However, the development of the RBD-1 presented some big challenges. The team had to ensure it matched the acceleration and deceleration capabilities of an F1 car, be accurate enough over the length of a 5.8km circuit on a single battery charge, and sustain power without overheating. The end result is a drone that can accelerate twice as fast as an F1 car and can reach a top speed of 350 kmph.

The power to change Formula 1 forever

But perhaps the most impressive feat of all was the manual piloting of the drone by Ralph Hogenbirk from Dutch Drone Gods. Navigating the drone’s flight path over the Silverstone circuit via a radio controller and FPV goggles, Hogenbirk’s precision and skill were put to the test as he controlled the camera angle with a foot pedal, all while maintaining a close-up view of the F1 car going at over 300 kmph.

Both Hogenbirk and Verstappen acknowledged the challenges in pulling off something like this, describing it as a “very stressful“ task. For the drone itself, such incredible performance comes at a cost—the drone’s battery life is limited to around three minutes of flight time. Yet, despite this limitation, the footage captured was nothing short of spectacular.

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As Verstappen rightly puts it, the result is some seriously cool footage that adds a new dimension to motorsport coverage. “This kind of shot’s never really been done before, the quality is really good,“ said the triple world champion. “I never thought to see a drone going that quick. It gives a different perspective to watching Formula 1… This can change how people watch Formula 1.“

Impressive as the RBD-1 drone is in keeping up with Max Verstappen on one of the fastest-flowing circuits on the F1 calendar. We wanted to know how the project came to be in the first place.

There was an idea to see if drones could become something more

The journey of Ralph Hogenbirk, the founder of Dutch Drone Gods, led him from building drones to competing in the Drone Racing League and eventually to filming the Red Bull Valparaíso Cerro Abajo event in 2020. The birth of the RBD-1 drone project came from a collaboration between Red Bull and Hogenbirk, inspired by the idea of a drone capable of following a Formula 1 car throughout an entire lap. While speed was never the issue, maneuvering through corners proved to be the biggest challenge because of limitations in the inherent design of drones.

Drawing from past attempts at building fast drones, their objective was to create a durable drone equipped with filming capabilities that could navigate corners efficiently. With backing from Red Bull Advanced Technologies, the drone’s development benefited from cutting-edge engineering, resulting in a lightweight yet robust design. David Coulthard, Red Bull brand ambassador, praised the project’s potential to immerse viewers in the racing experience, highlighting its diverse applications beyond traditional filming.

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What are your thoughts on the drone footage? Do you think Formula 1 should think about investing in this technology for the future?