It was driven by defending champion Sebastian Vettel and Australian driver Mark Webber for the third year running.

The car was launched at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain on 1 February 2011.

It won the first race of the season at Melbourne with Vettel, whilst Webber finished fifth.

In the nineteen races of the 2011 season, the RB7 only failed to finish in the top five twice, when Mark Webber crashed out of the Italian Grand Prix and when Sebastian Vettel retired from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

It is one of the most dominant Formula One cars ever built, winning 12 of the 19 races and claiming all but one pole position in the 2011 season, in part due to the innovative but controversial exhaust-blown diffuser.