To liken the Red Bull Formula 1 Junior Driver Programme to a classic horror film is an unusual and severe comparison to make. But events that have transpired in recent years support this.
Once a revered academy, the Red Bull Junior Driver Programme has all but collapsed, leaving the champions with few options for its Formula 1 seats. The outfit has placed itself in an impossible position in recent months.
The underperforming Sergio Perez looks set to cost the team the Constructors’ Championship for the first time in three seasons, with questions over who could replace him. Realistically, RB should provide the answer.
While the RB team is branching off into securing its own identity, it remains a de-facto junior team to Red Bull. Its purpose is a simple one. Train the elite crop of its young drivers for a seat and title glory with the senior team. Except it isn’t anymore. On the contrary, Red Bull seems to have lost faith in RB.
Further confusion reigns when looking at the current lineup. Yuki Tsunoda is not seen as a viable candidate for a jump to Red Bull despite strong performances against the now-departed Daniel Ricciardo.
Arriving in the team in 2021, his dramatic improvement and fiery temperament complement his speed. He is tied down until the end of next season but openly admits his F1 future lies away from Red Bull. But Tsunoda at least has a safe seat.
All are victims (or being stalked) by a spectre in the background, though not Dr. Helmut Marko, although he is a secondary antagonist; it is, in reality, Max Verstappen. The Dutchman has become an unwitting curse to Red Bull and is, in fact, the reason behind the woeful state of its young driver programme.
A cursed second Red Bull F1 seat at the top
Verstappen is a once-in-a-generation talent whose skills will not be seen in F1 for another decade. But his very unique driving style and needing a car on the absolute limit of adhesion results in a car that is very tricky to drive.
No driver since Ricciardo has tamed the Red Bull as a result, all falling victim to Verstappen’s raw speed, and failing to succeed in what has very much become the Dutcman’s domain. Pierre Gasly fell first, promoted to Red Bull in 2019 following Ricciardo’s departure to Renault.
A disaster followed, suffering demotion back to Toro Rosso mid-season, his confidence shattered after struggling to get within half a second of the Dutchman, often trailing in the lower part of the top-10. Gasly’s career recovered, bouncing back to take an emotional victory at Monza in 2020. He finally left the Red Bull F1 stable in 2023, signing for Alpine.
Alex Albon was next on to the potential chopping block and initially seemed to thrive in his first half-season. But being tipped around by Lewis Hamilton in Brazil in the closing stages, robbing him of a podium, sent him into a spiral. When combined with his illustrious team-mate finding more performance, the writing was already on the wall.
2020 became a nightmare, and he was duly dropped at the end of the season, remaining with Williams after a 2021 hiatus. That brings us to the current day, where we now have Perez in the cursed second seat, as the team looked outside the driver pool for the first time since its inception in 2005.
His time looks to be coming to an end shortly, and the curse of Verstappen is patiently waiting to strike and claim yet another driver.
RB: a slasher film with no continuity
These driver moves mean RB’s driver history since 2018 is equally turbulent. This is where the real bloodletting takes place, with Marko acting like Norman Bates as he slashes his way through drivers.
His moves have, at points, made little next to no sense. Brendan Hartley and Daniil Kvyat were drivers who had no business being near the junior team in 2017 and 2018, particularly when Kvyat had already been demoted from Red Bull and then dropped entirely.
Tsunoda’s situation is particularly odd upon examination. He has matured significantly since his arrival in 2021, having seen off three team-mates in three years and continuing to impress in the paddock. Yet, he seems to have been reduced to the role of the perfunctory survivor, with no real elaboration on why he is still around as the end credits roll.
But 2023 is easily the most ridiculous situation of all. Marko decided that Nyck de Vries was a future star following his brilliant one-off race for Williams in 2022, and signed him for the following season. Not only did this undercut drivers in Formula 3 and Formula 2 like Isack Hadjar, it sent a terrible message: Red Bull had no confidence in its younger drivers.
When De Vries became a first-act victim after just nine races into 2023, Marko once again pulled a move with logic only seen in a horror film. He re-hired Ricciardo. Never mind that Liam Lawson, Hadjar, or Ayumu Iwasa were available and waiting in the wings; another older driver was apparently the best fit for the junior team.
It was a move that was perplexing at best and incompetent at worst. Only when Ricciardo broke his wrist in Zandvoort did a new young driver finally get a bite at the cherry, which Lawson took full advantage of. Marko chose to spare Ricciardo for another season before unceremoniously firing him, a move everyone saw coming, including Ricciardo.
Forced change on the horizon
If RB is to continue being Red Bull’s junior team, it needs to utilise the driver talent and pool it has at its disposal. Its second seat resembles a musical chair with a fire lit underneath, as stability seems to be a taboo word to the Faenza outfit.
In its defence, this is driven by the parent team. Performance is critical to keeping a seat in either Red Bull F1 team. Underperform and the metaphorical axe will be swung without a moment’s hesitation. A ruthless approach, it has served the team well, allowing the likes of Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel to reap the rewards.
However, hiring and firing with a laissez-faire approach has consequences. Marko and Christian Horner have justifiably thrown their weight behind Verstappen, but now the competitive edge is slipping away, and the Dutchman is beginning to get itchy feet. He is linked with a move to a rival from 2026.
When this happens, the team will urgently scramble to fill the vacant seat. But it goes deeper than that. Car design philosophy, upgrades, and even approaches to race weekends will change. Work to replace the void left behind must start now.
The team’s long-term future needs to be urgently considered. Melodramatic driver moves are not the answer. Junior drivers must be given opportunities and enough time to adapt to driving alongside the very particular kind of car Verstappen demands.
The challenge is that going off the moves to bring in Ricciardo and de Vries, combined with the unwillingness to give Lawson a shot until absolutely necessary, no suitable candidate exists to fill the reigning world champion’s shoes.
Illogical swapping and signings have landed Red Bull in a scenario befitting a horror film. The net is closing in, and the final act is approaching. The question is whether Marko and Red Bull will realise the game is up and must change their approach or if they will continue to slash away, botching vital decisions affecting the long-term future of the team.
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