According to Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner, the team will reduce the number of drivers in its junior divisions after this year.
Red Bull Team will reduce the number of drivers in its junior
Under the cautious eye of Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, the Austrian team has become recognized for its strategy for introducing numerous young drivers into Formula 1.
Although Marko’s brutal methods have drawn much criticism, they have so far resulted in six Drivers’ Championships for drivers whose careers Red Bull helped launch.
Red Bull Team will reduce the number of drivers in its junior
Red Bull currently fields seven drivers across the 20-car grid in Formula 2, the top feeder series for Formula 1 as it seeks to discover the next Sebastian Vettel or Max Verstappen.
With three rounds left, only Japanese racer Ayumu Iwasa, who is currently third, is still in real-world title contention.
In order to ensure that only the best drivers stay in its junior program, Horner has since emphasized that Red Bull would start a process of limiting the number of drivers in the program.
“I think that look, I mean, things go in waves, it produced Sebastian Vettel, it’s produced Max Verstappen,” Horner said regarding the Red Bull Junior Team on the ESPN Podcast.
Its alumnus Daniel [Ricciardo] is. Graduates from it include Carlos Sainz. Its graduate is Pierre Gasly. There are so many drivers who have been granted the chance to enter Formula 1. Alex Albon is another example.
“And yes, I believe that moving forward, it will also place a little more emphasis on youngsters. The number of drivers in Formula 2 this year will likely decrease going future, and there may be a renewed emphasis on some of the lesser formulae.
“But, as you probably know, a Max Verstappen or a Sebastian Vettel don’t appear every year. Making sure to recognize that gift when it manifests is all that is required.
Verstappen is expected to win the F1 Drivers’ Championship for the third year in a row thanks to his domination, but since the reigning World Champions selected Sergio Perez to race alongside the Dutchman in 2021, the efficacy of Red Bull’s development program has come under some scrutiny.
Since Mark Webber in 2006, when Red Bull fielded a driver in its senior team who wasn’t a product of its prestigious academy, the Mexican’s signing represented the first time that had happened.
At the end of the previous year, when Gasly was hired by Alpine, Marko once more disregarded the Red Bull young drivers by bringing in Nyck de Vries from Mercedes.
De Vries was fired from Formula One after just 10 races due to his problems, but Red Bull chose to send Ricciardo to AlphaTauri for the rest of the 2023 season.
The 34-year-old Australian was chosen in favour of Red Bull Junior Team member Liam Lawson, who is currently gunning for the title in the Japanese Super Formula series.
