Red Bull Formula 1 team turns Washington's iconic Pennsylvania Ave into a racetrack

Thousands of fans lined up along Pennsylvania Avenue on Saturday for the thrill of watching a Formula 1 race-winner blast down the iconic street in a championship-winning car.

WASHINGTON — Thousands of fans lined up along Pennsylvania Avenue on Saturday for the thrill of watching a Formula 1 race winner blast down the iconic street in a championship-winning car.

The event was hosted on a breezy spring afternoon by reigning F1 champions Oracle Red Bull Racing as part of a series of events in American cities designed to bring the world’s fastest race cars closer to the sport’s fastest-growing fan base.

The main event featured F1 race winner and former Red Bull driver David Coulthard. Coulthard, a retired driver who goes by “DC,” raced the RB7 car — in which Sebastian Vettel won the 2011 title — down the street between the Capitol and the White House, the same area that gets blocked off for presidential inaugurations.

Crowds packed the spectator zones for a good view, cheering and smelling burned rubber as Coulthard hit the throttle in a car that goes over 200 mph, some of them covering their ears as the engine revved up.

“It’s exciting!” said Ron Binkauskas, who flew to Washington from Kentucky and watched in the VIP zone. “You don’t realize from TV just how fast these cars are and how loud they are.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/red-bull-formula-1-dc-pennsylvania-ave-race-rcna148446

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