New talents join the same path as current Formula 1 drivers and champions Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Daniel Ricciardo have, with the Red Bull Junior Driver development programme.
Since its formation in 2001, the Red Bull Junior Team has been committed to developing the best young driving talent in motorsports. Currently the team consists of nine 15 to19-year-old racers driving in the Junior Formula Series and now the aggregation is growing.
The Red Bull Driver Search – programme’s days of selection and testing of driver candidates from across the globe, is back to scout for the next generation drivers to join the team.
The search for future champions began on the first week of August in Jerez, Spain. The 11 invited candidates aged between 13-16 years old came from the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Lebanon and Mexico. From this aspiring group, the first drivers selected to join the programme were Fionn McLaughlin and Scott Lindblom.
The three-day event consisted of prospective young drivers trying and testing open-wheel F4 and GP3 racing cars in a shootout format. Their performance was evaluated by Dr. Helmut Marko, Red Bull Motorsports Consultant and Head of the Red Bull Junior Driver programme. “What is important here is that we see most of them for the first time in a Formula car. How they adapt, how quickly they progress and how their improvement is during a 2-day test. We are looking for both talent and speed, a driver to win a Grand Prix. We are really focused on how good these drivers are under pressure and on qualifying simulations.”
“We don’t buy stars, we make stars. We give them the chance – they can use our simulators in Milton Keynes, they will have support with training and nutrition. It’s perfect preparation for Formula 1”, concludes Dr. Marko, a former professional racing driver.
The first driver to make the tough Red Bull Junior Team cut was 16-year-old Fionn McLaughlin from Derry, Ireland. McLaughlin will move from Karting to an F4 series next season. After challenging, but rewarding days spent testing in Jerez, McLaughlin described his goals as being set nothing but high. “My goal in racing is to be a world champion. I never give up; I work hard until I’m at the top. I will keep working until I’m there “. Fionn’s racing role model, Sebastian Vettel, was a Red Bull Junior Driver graduate himself. “The driver that got me into racing was Sebastian Vettel. He has always been an inspiration to me.”
Another young talent scouted through Red Bull Driver Search in Spain was 14-year-old Scott Lindblom from Falun, Sweden. Lindblom will join the Red Bull family as a Karting driver. “My biggest challenge was adjusting my driving style from Karting to F4 because it was my first time in a F4 car”. But as Dr. Marko noted, “It was his first time in a Formula car, and he went out and was straight away competitive”.
More Red Bull Driver Search names going through to the programme will be announced soon.
Over the years, the Red Bull Junior Team has been successful in bringing a selection of drivers into Formula One. The Red Bull Driver Search has been pivotal in the process of scouting the talent. Five of the Red Bull Junior Team alumni; Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly, and Carlos Sainz Jr. have won a Formula One race, while Vettel and Verstappen have won at least three World Championships each.
