Editor's Desk: Red Bull's junior driver program

Red Bull are known for their ruthless driver development program that is overseen by they motorsport advisor, Dr. Helmut Marko.

The program has so far delivered two champions since Red Bull Racing was born back in 2005 and those two are: Sebastian Vettel (2010-2013) and Max Verstappen (2021-2024).

Many other drivers have come and gone, some race winners, but aside from the German and the Dutchman, there has been no other Formula 1 champion.

Granted that F1 is the top tier of motorsport and that the 20 drivers that make it to this level are the best in the world, which somehow justifies Red Bull's ruthlessness with their drivers, but has Marko and Co. gone too far?

Vettel has been an exceptional talent that delivered championships for Red Bull, and Verstappen can only be labeled as a generational talent because you cannot expect to stumble over a driver like him every couple of years.

Other than that, some really solid drivers have made their way through the Red Bull drivers' program: Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, and Yuki Tsunoda. Sebastian Buemi also springs to mind as a really decent driver who has done well for himself in other series, WEC an example.

Out of these drivers, only Yuki Tsunoda remains and is now joined by Isack Hadjar at Racing Bulls, both doing a solid job so far in 2025 despite the latter's crash on the formation lap of the 2025 Australian Grand Prix.

Sainz left Red Bull first and did well driving for Renault, then McLaren and Ferrari, while he is now struggling at Williams. The Spaniard joined F1 with Toro Rosso in the same year as Verstappen, but Red Bull thought he wasn't good enough and did not make any effort to promote or keep him. He is no Verstappen, but he gave Charles Leclerc a run for his money when they shared the Ferrari garage.

Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly were both given chances to race at Red Bull Racing alongside Verstappen and both got burned and sent packing. Albon is now doing well at Williams, while Gasly was deemed good enough to lead Alpine by Flavio Briatore while Esteban Ocon was fired.

Ricciardo was the closest Red Bull driver to stand up to Verstappen, but he made the mistake of running away after believing he would always play second fiddle to the four-time F1 champion.

But all these drivers are examples of money and time wasted by the Red Bull driver program. They were developed into F1 and were simply gifted to other teams who are now enjoying their services.

Now, Lawson is in the hot seat alongside Verstappen and is fighting for his future with reports already claiming he may be replaced by Tsunoda for the Japanese Grand Prix, the latter never considered good enough for Red Bull Racing.

Lawson is not a bad driver. He proved his worth when he stood in for Ricciardo for five races back in 2023 and when he replaced him at VCARB in 2024 midseason.

Did he forget how to drive suddenly? I don't think so.

But let's look at this from another angle. Sergio Perez lost his job at Red Bull Racing at the end of 2024 after his form dropped drastically; he could not get his head around the team's 2024 car, which Verstappen had to work hard to secure his fourth title with.

The team's 2025 car, the RB21, seems to be marred by the same issues as its predecessor, and while Verstappen is wringing its neck to deliver results, Lawson is unable to do so. Can you blame him? He is no Max.

I feel Red Bull need to sort out their car first before deciding on Lawson's future or deciding to give Tsunoda a go in the RB21.

There is a high chance the Japanese driver will bomb as well in this car, and knowing his volatile character, he would go off the boil despite becoming more composed recently.

Red Bull have a lot of thinking to do with regards to their driver program. Having a driver like Max is as much a curse as it is a blessing.

How do you find the next Max, and how do you make sure the new drivers can match such a high benchmark?

Ruthlessness will not always help them, and they can't keep bringing drivers in and firing them after a short stint just because they cannot match Max, who, by the way, will not stay around forever.

When he does, and that may be soon, Red Bull Racing will find themselves without any drivers or with broken ones. Who will they get?

Maybe it is time for Red Bull to change their approach, give their junior drivers some love for a change, that is until they find the next Max Verstappen, if they find him.