• The Red Bull Showrun returns to South Africa this time to Sandton.
• On 6th October David Coulthard will race the 2011 World Driver and Construction Championship winning RB7 down Katherine Street.
• If you miss the whine of V8 Formula 1 cars, this is an event worth attending.

Extreme sports sponsor and sometimes energy drink maker Red Bull has announced that its series of Showruns will be coming to Sandton later this year featuring the Oracle Red Bull Racing team’s 2011 Formula 1 World Driver and Constructor Championship winning car, the RB7.

The Showrun will feature British Formula 1 racing legend and Grand Prix winner David Coulthard racing the RB7 down Katherine Street in Sandton on 6th October. There will also be dedicated zones for doughnuts. To be clear we mean the burnt rubber doughnut and not the confectionary. We were just as disappointed as you are when we learned this.

“This event will give fans a chance to witness Formula 1 up close and personal, bringing everyone together in a festive and family friendly environment,” Red Bull writes on the event page.

Tickets are available via Computicket but space is limited and tickets are moving fast. There are also several ticket options:

• General Access – R250,
• Grandstand A – R1 450,
• Grandstand B – R1 150,
• Grandstand C – R950,
• Heineken Zero Zone – R2 450,
• Friends of Red Bull Hospitality – R3 950.

The Friends of Red Bull Hospitality Zone includes a prime view of the action and pit lane as well as premium food and drinks. The Heineken Zero Zone meanwhile includes canape style catering and complimentary drinks.

You can see how the grandstands, general admission and premier seats are allocated below. The good news is that the “track” is just down the road from the Sandton Gautrain station.

While the car that will hit Katherine Street isn’t the same one Max Verstappen is currently dominating with – it isn’t even in the same era really – the Red Bull RB7 is a beast in its own right.

The creation of Adrian Newey and his magical pencil, the RB7 was used by Sebastian Vettel to secure his second World Driver’s Championship title. Vettel secured the title at the Japanese Grand Prix with four races remaining. That trend continued for two more years on the run although not in the RB7.

Given this is an older Formula 1 car, it is packing a V8 engine so expect to hear that trademark scream as Coulthard pushes the revs higher.

There was talk of Formula 1 returning to South Africa in 2024, but those talks stalled when it was agreed that Belgium would host another race at the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps this year. Whether South Africa will be in mind for a spot on the 2025 calendar remains to be seen but where that race would take place remains to be seen.

While the obvious choice would be Kyalami which used to host Formula 1, the FIA’s obsession with street circuits makes us wonder if a Cape Town (which hosted Formula E in 2023) could be turned into a track. We’re not sure how Formula 1 cars handle patchwork tar and potholes, but it sure would be interesting to see those cars fighting the wind in the CBD.

[Image – CC BY 2.0 Jake Archibald]