Red Bull Junior Team

Sebastian Vettel in a Formula 3 Euro Series car in 2006, featuring prominent Red Bull sponsorship.

The Red Bull Junior Team, commonly referred to as the Red Bull Driver Academy, is a driver development programme run by the conglomerate company Red Bull GmbH in an attempt to identify potential future racing stars in open wheel racing. The similar Red Bull Driver Search, now ended, was an American spinoff of the same idea held in 2005. Members of the Junior Team are financed and sponsored by Red Bull in lower racing formulae.

The programs have been successful in bringing a selection of drivers into Formula One. Five of them, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly, and Carlos Sainz Jr. have won a Formula One race, with two of them (Vettel and Verstappen) having won at least three World Championships. Red Bull owns two teams in Formula One, Red Bull Racing and RB.

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.

In 2024, Red Bull formed a separate programme, called the Red Bull Ford Academy Programme, to support the team's F1 Academy drivers.

Current drivers

^ Driver is also a member of the Honda Formula Dream Project

Graduates to Red Bull Racing in Formula 1

Championship titles highlighted in bold.
† denotes currently active Formula 1 drivers.

^ a b c d 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
^ a b c d 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

Graduates to Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri/RB

This list includes drivers who have graduated from the Junior Team to Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri/RB but have not raced for Red Bull Racing. Former Red Bull Junior Team drivers who have driven for 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.

Former drivers

Championship titles highlighted in bold.

Graduates summary

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 and Red Bull Racing, and was a test driver for HRT F1 Team.
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 – joined 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 had been a test driver for BMW Sauber.
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. Left for Renault at the end of the 2018 season. Rejoined Scuderia AlphaTauri in 2023 after the firing of Nyck De Vries.
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 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 season. Then joined Ferrari for the 2021 season, where he scored one win at the 2022 British Grand Prix.
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, and 2023 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.
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 team for the 2021 season after coming third 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.

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 Ford 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]

Results

Formula 3000

D.C. = Drivers' Championship position, T.C. = Teams' Championship position.

References

^ a b Maher, Thomas (15 January 2021). "Honda-backed Ayumu Iwasa joins Red Bull Junior Academy". Formula Spy. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
^ "FRECA - EXCLU AUTOhebdo : Isack Hadjar rejoint le Red Bull Junior Team". www.autohebdo.fr. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
^ a b c d "Red Bull Junior Team announces 2023 line-up, F3 standouts move to F2". Autosport. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
^ "Josep María Martí joins Red Bull Junior Team". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
^ @redbulljuniorteam (12 October 2023). "Hello @tim_tramnitz 👋 We're excited to welcome Tim to the roster of promising young talents. Wishing him the best of luck this weekend in Zandvoort for Round 9 of #FRECA #RedBullJuniorTeam #GivesYouWings" – via Instagram.
^ @feeder_series (13 November 2023). "Oliver Goethe joins the Red Bull Junior Team!". twitter.com. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
^ Wood, Ida (3 March 2024). "James Egozi gets FWinter Series win, Spanish F4 seat and RBJT spot". Formula Scout. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
^ a b "Red Bull signs karters Scott Lindblom and Fionn McLaughlin as juniors". Formula Scout. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
^ a b c d "Red Bull picks four more junior signings after driver search shootout". Formula Scout. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
^ "Carlos Sainz to race for Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow in 2021 and 2022". ferrari.com. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
^ "Federico Montoya in german Formula BMW". www.italiaracing.net (in Italian). Retrieved 6 April 2024.
^ "Who are the 2005 Red Bull drivers and where they will race". www.italiaracing.net (in Italian). Retrieved 6 April 2024.
^ Allen, Peter (27 March 2013). "Beitske Visser joins Red Bull Junior Team". paddockscout.com. Paddock Scout. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
^ "Red Bull Junior to Carlin for FIA F3". Carlin. 12 February 2015. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
^ Hensby, Paul (12 February 2015). "Briton Stoneman joins Red Bull Stable". thecheckeredflag.co.uk. The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
^ a b "Red Bull adds Ticktum, Verhagen to junior roster". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
^ "Jack Doohan - Red Bull Junior Team Athlete Profile". www.redbull.com. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^ Van Vliet, Pierre (24 September 2017). "Red Bull selects its lucky juniors". F1i.com. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
^ Chokhani, Darshan (12 November 2018). "Juri Vips joins Red Bull Junior Team for Macau GP alongside Ticktum". FormulaRapida.net. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
^ "Dennis Hauger". Red Bull. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^ Allen, Peter (22 October 2023). "Hauger to split from Red Bull but return to F2 in 2024". Formula Scout. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
^ Nimmervoll, Christian (13 December 2019). "Auer, Red Bull split after single year in Super Formula". motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
^ "Patricio O'Ward joins Red Bull Junior Team for IndyCar campaign". 9 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
^ "O'Ward splits with Red Bull – and enters the McLaren IndyCar frame". 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
^ "The Red Bull Junior Team welcomes Jehan Daruvala". 20 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
^ "RED BULL JUNIOR TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT 2020 - NO STOPPING THE JUNIORS RACING AND WINNING INTO A NEW SEASON". 28 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
^ Wood, Ida (16 November 2023). "Jak Crawford to leave Red Bull Junior Team but stay in F2 for 2024". Formula Scout. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
^ "Team Goh gets Red Bull backing for first Super Formula season". motorsport.com. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
^ Klein, Jamie. "Super Formula: Ren Sato not giving up on overseas dream". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
^ "Enzo Fittipaldi joins Red Bull programme for Carlin F2 move". motorsport.com. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
^ a b Harden, Oliver (16 October 2023). "Red Bull junior academy set for big shake-up with three drivers at risk". PlanetF1. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
^ Łukasz Kuczera (8 November 2023). "Red Bull postawił na polski talent! Nadzieje na karierę w F1 wzrosły". wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 10 November 2023.
^ "F1 Academy". Red Bull Racing. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
^ Cooper, Adam (7 March 2024). "Ford F1 Academy deal shows support for Red Bull". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
^ "F1 Academy: Formula 1 announces F1 Academy, a new all-female driver series for 2023". Formula 1. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
^ Oracle Red Bull Racing (8 March 2024). "Oracle Red Bull Racing and Pepe Jeans London announce a debut ready-to-wear collection for Summer 2024". Red Bull Racing. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
^ Cooper, Adam (7 March 2024). "Ford F1 Academy deal shows support for Red Bull". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
^ Collantine, Keith (2 February 2024). "Red Bull's two F1 teams back trio of drivers in F1 Academy". RaceFans. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
^ GP2 and Formula 3000 entry list and complete results Archived 19 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine speedsportmag.com

External links