A new Red Bull Racing advert that filmed across historic landmarks in the Czech Republic and Slovakia has now premiered online. In the Czech Republic, the ad surged to the #1 trending position on YouTube shortly after it was published, gaining around half a million views in twelve hours.
In From Castle to Castle, a Red Bull Racing RB7 driven by 13-time Grand Prix winner David Coulthard begins a journey at Prague Castle before diverting to Charles Bridge and drifting around David Černý’s rotating Franz Kafka statue.
The ride continues outside of Prague, as Coulthard makes his way into Moravian vineyards and the historic Lednice Castle, over the Nové Mlýny Dam, and into Slovakia. It culminates with an incredible stunt featuring pilot Martin Šonka, 2018 Red Bull Air Race World Champion, flying an aircraft upside down just meters above the car at Poprad-Tatry Airport.
“The great thing about this film is that it’s all real. When the aircraft is just a few meters above the RB7 and upside down, that’s real, that’s the skill of Martin. He’s a professional right at the top of his game,” Coulthard said for Red Bull.
“I really enjoy the fact that I have the opportunity to showcase the Formula One car across different countries and here in the Czech Republic and Slovakia we’re on cobbled streets, dusty tracks and some beautiful scenery in the mountains. It’s been incredible and From Castle to Castle has been like a journey of discovery for me, as well as a showcasing what an F1 car can do off-track.”
The advert caused a stir when filming took place on Prague’s Charles Bridge back in April, with some locals concerned over potential damage to the historic landmark should the stuntwork not go as planned.
But the brisk drive across the Prague landmark was handled in cooperation with local preservationists, and clearly not the most dangerous stunt performed in the advert.
“We both have very limited vision out of our cockpits and for me to fly at such a low level and inverted, I more or less need to look to the front to be able to control the height of the plane,” Czech pilot Šonka said of the plane stunt.
“The driver also has to look to the front, but, because of the head and neck restraint F1 drivers use, he can’t look up. So, we solved the problem by placing a small mirror in front of David so he could see me while looking to the front. It was incredible to fly in such a formation.“
Lead photo courtesy Red Bull Racing (Jan Kasa)
