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Red Bull Junior Team
Red Bull's driver development program From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Red Bull Junior Team is a driver development programme operated by Austrian conglomerate company Red Bull GmbH to identify and develop talent in open-wheel racing. Members of the Junior Team are financed and sponsored by Red Bull in kart racing and junior formulae.
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The programs have been successful in bringing a selection of drivers into Formula One. Five graduates—Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz Jr.—have won a Formula One Grand Prix, whilst Vettel and Verstappen have won the World Drivers' Championship a combined eight times. Red Bull owns two teams in Formula One, Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls.
The Red Bull Junior Team was also the name of RSM Marko, a team that competed in International Formula 3000 between 1999 and 2003, sponsored by Red Bull and run by Helmut Marko.
The Red Bull Junior Team was formed in 2001 as Red Bull's European driver programme. Red Bull offers funding and support for the promising young drivers that are part of the programme. In 2004, Christian Klien became the first Red Bull Junior to race in Formula One, while in 2008, Sebastian Vettel became the first Red Bull Junior to win a Formula One Grand Prix, the Italian Grand Prix. Two years later, in 2010, Vettel became the first Red Bull Junior graduate to win the Formula One World Championship.
The similar Red Bull Driver Search, now ended, was an American spinoff of the same idea held in 2005. In 2024, Red Bull formed a separate programme called the Red Bull Academy Programme to support the team's F1 Academy drivers.
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Current drivers
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Graduates to Red Bull Racing in Formula 1
- Championship titles highlighted in bold.
- † denotes currently active Formula 1 drivers.
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Graduates to Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri/RB
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This list includes drivers who have graduated from the Junior Team to Toro Rosso, AlphaTauri and Racing Bulls but have not raced for Red Bull Racing. Former Red Bull Junior Team drivers who have driven for both Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri/RB and Red Bull Racing appear on the Graduates to Red Bull Racing table.
- Championship titles highlighted in bold.
- † denotes currently active Formula 1 drivers.
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Former drivers
_in_practice_at_USGP_2005.jpg)
- Championship titles highlighted in bold.
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Graduates summary
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 | This section needs to be updated. (August 2021) |
The scheme has been successful, with several of the drivers backed by Red Bull making it into Formula One:
- Enrique Bernoldi – raced for Arrows and was briefly a test driver for British American Racing.
- Christian Klien – raced for Jaguar Racing, Red Bull Racing, HRT F1 Team and was a test driver for Honda and BMW Sauber.
- Patrick Friesacher – raced for Minardi.
- Narain Karthikeyan – raced for Jordan and HRT and was a test driver for Williams.
- Robert Doornbos – raced for Minardi and Red Bull Racing.
- Vitantonio Liuzzi – raced for Red Bull Racing, Scuderia Toro Rosso and Force India, at one stage attracted the attention of Ferrari after dominant performances in Formula 3000, raced for the HRT F1 Team before being replaced ahead of the 2012 season.
- Scott Speed – raced for Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2006 and 2007. Raced the No. 82 Red Bull Racing Team Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series before being released by Red Bull after the 2010 season. Speed currently races in Global Rallycross for Andretti Autosport, where he is 3–time and reigning champion.
- Sebastian Vettel – Made a one-off appearance for BMW Sauber before joining Toro Rosso for the second half of the 2007 season in Scott Speed's place, replaced David Coulthard at Red Bull Racing for the 2009 season. Became the 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 Formula One World Drivers' Champion, and left for Ferrari at the end of the 2014 season. He moved to Aston Martin in the 2021 season before retiring at the end of the 2022 season.
- Sébastien Buemi – raced for Scuderia Toro Rosso from 2009 to 2011. He had participated in the GP2 Series Asia and GP2 Series for Trust Team Arden and in A1 Grand Prix with A1 Team Switzerland, as back–up to fellow Red Bull Junior Team driver Jani.
- Jaime Alguersuari – raced for Scuderia Toro Rosso, substituted for Sébastien Bourdais for the second half of the 2009 season before being replaced at the end of the 2011 season. He had won British F3 in 2008 and raced in the World Series by Renault in 2009. In 2015 he retired from motorsport and is now a DJ.
- Karun Chandhok – raced for Hispania Racing and Team Lotus, and was a heritage driver for Williams.
- Daniel Ricciardo – reserve driver for Red Bull Racing and winner of the 2009 British Formula 3 season with Carlin Motorsport before being placed at HRT in 2011 and joining Toro Rosso in 2012. Signed up to replace Mark Webber at Red Bull for the 2014 season, taking three victories and finishing 3rd in the championship standings. He has raced for Renault and McLaren after leaving Red Bull Racing at the end of the 2018 season. Rejoined Scuderia AlphaTauri in 2023 after the firing of Nyck De Vries, before getting dropped after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.
- Jean-Éric Vergne – joined Toro Rosso for the 2012 season after finishing second in the 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season. Left the programme at the end of the 2014 season to become a test driver at Ferrari.
- Daniil Kvyat – joined Toro Rosso for the 2014 season after claiming the GP3 title the previous year. Signed up to replace Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull for the 2015 season. Demoted to Scuderia Toro Rosso after the 2016 Russian GP, replaced with Max Verstappen. Replaced by Pierre Gasly at Toro Rosso for the 2018 season, joined Ferrari as test and reserve driver. Rejoined Toro Rosso for the 2019 season before being replaced again at the end of 2020.
- Carlos Sainz Jr. – joined Toro Rosso for the 2015 season after claiming the Formula Renault 3.5 title the previous year. Moved to Renault after the 2017 Japanese GP. Joined McLaren for the 2019. Then joined Ferrari for the 2021 season, where he won four races. He joined Williams Racing in the 2025 season.
- Max Verstappen – joined Toro Rosso for 2015 after finishing third in the 2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship, having been signed to the Red Bull programme midway through that season. Promoted to Red Bull Racing for the 2016 Spanish GP, which he won on debut. Became 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 Formula One World Drivers' Champion with Red Bull.
- Pierre Gasly – debuted for Toro Rosso in the 2017 Malaysian GP after winning the 2016 GP2 Series. Joined Toro Rosso full time for the 2018 season. Promoted to Red Bull Racing for the 2019 season to replace Daniel Ricciardo. Demoted to Toro Rosso after the 2019 Hungarian GP. He left the rebranded Scuderia AlphaTauri and moved to Alpine in the 2023 season.
- Brendon Hartley – joined Toro Rosso for the 2017 United States GP after winning the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship. Continued with the team the following year before being replaced by Alexander Albon for 2019.
- Alexander Albon – re-signed by Red Bull ahead of the 2019 season to race for Toro Rosso after finishing third in the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship. Promoted to Red Bull Racing after the 2019 Hungarian GP, contract not renewed for 2021. Became a Red Bull test driver and joined their 2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters team. Returned to Formula One in 2022 with Williams.
- Yuki Tsunoda – joined rebranded Scuderia AlphaTauri for the 2021 season after coming third in Formula 2 the previous year. Promoted to Red Bull Racing at the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix.
- Liam Lawson – debuted for Scuderia AlphaTauri in the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix after coming third in Formula 2 the previous year, deputising for Ricciardo. Re-joined the rebranded RB Formula One Team in the 2024 United States Grand Prix to replace Ricciardo. He was briefly promoted to Red Bull Racing for the 2025 season but was demoted back to Racing Bulls after only two rounds.
- Isack Hadjar – joined Racing Bulls for the 2025 season after coming second in Formula 2 the previous year.
As well as these, Red Bull has supported many up-and-coming young drivers:
- Neel Jani – a test driver for Sauber, Red Bull Racing, and later Toro Rosso, whilst also representing Switzerland in A1 Grand Prix.
- Colin Fleming – raced in the World Series by Renault with Carlin Motorsport.
- Michael Ammermüller – raced in the GP2 Series with ART.
- Mikhail Aleshin – raced in the World Series by Renault with Carlin Motorsport.
- Adrian Zaugg – raced in World Series by Renault for Carlin Motorsport for a part–season as well in A1 Grand Prix for South Africa.
- Filipe Albuquerque – raced in the World Series by Renault with Epsilon Euskadi.
- Robert Wickens – raced in the World Series by Renault with Carlin Motorsport.
- António Félix da Costa – finished third in the 2012 GP3 Series with Carlin and the 2013 Formula Renault 3.5 Series with Arden Caterham.
- Alex Lynn – won the GP3 Series in 2014 for Carlin.
- Sérgio Sette Câmara – competed in the 2016 FIA Formula 3 European Championship for Motopark. Progressed into Formula 2 without Red Bull's support and was re-signed in 2020 as a test driver for Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri.
- Dan Ticktum – raced part-time in the Super Formula Championship in 2018 and 2019 for Team Mugen.
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American spin-off
Red Bull Driver Search was an American spin-off run from 2002 to 2005 in parallel with the Red Bull Junior Team. Its aim was "Searching for the future American F1 Champion". The winner was Scott Speed, who went on to compete in F1 in 2005 as a test driver for Red Bull.[citation needed]
Red Bull Academy Programme
In 2024, Red Bull set up the Red Bull Academy Programme to support the team's F1 Academy drivers.[33][34] F1 Academy was founded by Formula One as a racing series aimed at developing and preparing young female drivers to progress to higher levels of competition.[35]
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Results
Formula 3000
- D.C. = Drivers' Championship position, T.C. = Teams' Championship position.
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See also
Notes
- Driver was simultaneously a member of the Honda Formula Dream Project.
- Max Verstappen was promoted to Red Bull Racing mid-season following the Russian Grand Prix, replacing Daniil Kvyat who was demoted back to Scuderia Toro Rosso
- Alexander Albon was promoted to Red Bull Racing mid-season following the Hungarian Grand Prix, replacing Pierre Gasly who was demoted back to Scuderia Toro Rosso
- Yuki Tsunoda was promoted to Red Bull Racing mid-season following the Chinese Grand Prix, replacing Liam Lawson who was demoted back to Racing Bulls
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References
External links
Wikiwand - on
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