What is Red Bull Junior Team? A look at the unique F1 Academy

Almost half of the Formula 1 grid in 2025 will come from the Red Bull Junior Team, making it one of the most successful academy programs in motorsport.

What is Red Bull Junior Team?

Red Bull Junior Team is a driver development program run by Austrian conglomerate Red Bull GmbH, known for its energy drink brand, and led by motorsport consultant Helmut Marko.

It was officially founded in 2001 with the aim of signing and developing young racing drivers, enabling them to establish successful careers within the industry.

This involves Red Bull identifying and funding drivers from Formula 2 to karting and supporting their progression through the open-wheel ranks with aspirations of ultimately reaching F1.

Red Bull made its F1 debut in 2005 after the company purchased Jaguar Racing, thus taking over its Milton Keynes base.

It was not a great first year for Red Bull as it finished seventh in the championship, but the following season saw the company expand its presence on the grid.

That’s because Red Bull bought the uncompetitive Minardi, an Italian squad that was in F1 from 1985 to 2005.

The company rebranded the team as Toro Rosso – pronounced ‘Red Bull’ in Italian – to serve as Red Bull’s junior team in F1.

Therefore, whenever a Red Bull Junior driver has made his F1 debut, it has usually come with the Faenza-based team and impressive form has been rewarded with promotion to the ‘A’ team.

However, over the course of several rebrands, its sister outfit has become one of F1’s most successful teams in history.

Red Bull has won eight drivers’ world championships (Vettel, 2010–13, and Verstappen, 2021–24) and six constructors’ titles (2010–13, 2022–23), while holding several records such as most wins in a season (21) Have broken. , most consecutive wins (15) and most points in a campaign (860).

But not every Red Bull Junior will reach F1, as many graduates of the program are competing in other forms of motorsport, be it the World Endurance Championship, IndyCar or even DTM.

Which F1 drivers have graduated from Red Bull Junior Team?

When Hajjar makes his series debut in 2025 he will become the 17th F1 driver to graduate from the Red Bull junior system.

The 20-year-old will partner Tsunoda at Racing Bulls after Lawson was promoted from the Italian team to become Verstappen’s team-mate next season.

Red Bull has a long history of signing drivers from its sister team, with Vettel being the first to make this leap in 2009, shortly after winning the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.

Given that Vettel and Verstappen have each claimed four F1 World Championships with Red Bull, while Ricciardo has won seven Grands Prix with the Austrian team, there are many success stories in the program.

But it is also a very difficult program. If a driver does not perform well immediately, his future within the system comes into question.

Gasly, for example, moved to Red Bull in 2019 after a season and a quarter with Toro Rosso. But, after struggling against Verstappen in just 12 Grands Prix, the Frenchman was demoted back to the ‘B’ team.

The performance of his successor was also not very good. Albon was promoted midway through his rookie year, but was dropped from the ‘A’ team after only one and a half seasons.

This followed a very disappointing 2020 campaign, with Albon finishing seventh in the championship, 109 points behind Verstappen, who was third.

Sébastien Buemi, for example, has become a four-time WEC winner after his three-year stint with Toro Rosso.

Ayumu Iwasa, meanwhile, is a Red Bull junior in the Super Formula championship and IndyCar’s Callum Ilott spent 2015 in the program – yet neither have made a Grand Prix start.

However, his former team Racing Point opted to replace him with Vettel for 2021, meaning Pérez was without a drive despite finishing his career-best fourth in the championship.

Therefore, given Albon’s struggles, Red Bull signed free agent Pérez shortly after the conclusion of the 2020 Abu Dhabi season, as at the time they had no junior driver capable of replacing the Thai-Briton.

Who are the current drivers in the Red Bull Junior Team?

The Red Bull Junior Team currently has 16 drivers, starting with Iwasa, who recently finished fifth in the 2024 Super Formula championship.

The 23-year-old joined the system in 2021, where he made his F3 debut before being promoted to F2 later the following season. Iwasa then spent two years in F2, scoring five wins and a best finish of fourth in the 2023 standings and then returned to his native country to compete in Japan’s top single-seater series.

Iwasa also made his F1 season debut in 2024, as he drove for RB in first practice at the Japanese GP.

Other current members of the program include Pepe Marti, who became an F2 race winner in 2024, while Arvid Lindblad will make his series debut in 2025, having recently finished fourth as a rookie in the F3 championship.

Nikola Tsolov and Niklas Schöffler will also join the Red Bull Junior program in 2025.