Red Bull Junior Team

Updated on Dec 06, 2023

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The Red Bull Junior Team is a driver development program run by the energy drink company Red Bull GmbH in an attempt to identify potential future racing stars in open wheel racing. The similar Red Bull Driver Search, now ended, was an American spinoff of the same idea. Members of the Junior Team are financed and sponsored by Red Bull in lower racing formulae.

The programs have been successful in bringing a selection of drivers into Formula One. Three of them, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen have won a Formula One race. Red Bull owns two teams in Formula One, Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso.

The Red Bull Junior Team was also the name of RSM Marko, a team that competed in International Formula 3000 between 1999 and 2003, sponsored by Red Bull and run by Helmut Marko.

The Red Bull Junior Team was formed in 2001 as Red Bull's European driver programme. Red Bull offers funding and support for the promising young drivers that are part of the programme. In 2004, Christian Klien became the first Red Bull Junior to race in Formula One, while in 2008, Sebastian Vettel became the first Red Bull Junior to win a Formula One Grand Prix, the Italian Grand Prix.

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Graduates to Red Bull Racing

Championship titles highlighted in bold.

In 2016, Max Verstappen was promoted to Red Bull mid-season.

Graduates to Toro Rosso

This list includes drivers who have graduated from the Junior Team to Toro Rosso but have not raced for Red Bull Racing. Former Red Bull Junior Team drivers who have driven for Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing appear on the Graduates to Red Bull Racing table.

Championship titles highlighted in bold.

Former drivers

Championship titles highlighted in bold.

Graduates rundown

The scheme has been successful, with several of the drivers backed by Red Bull making it into Formula One:

Enrique Bernoldi – raced for Arrows and was briefly a test driver for British American Racing.

Karun Chandhok – raced for the HRT F1 Team in 2010 and was a reserve driver for Team Lotus in 2011.

Robert Doornbos – raced for Minardi and Red Bull Racing.

Patrick Friesacher – raced for Minardi.

Narain Karthikeyan – raced for Jordan and HRT and was a test driver for Williams.

Christian Klien – raced for Jaguar Racing and Red Bull Racing, and was a test driver for HRT F1 Team.

Vitantonio Liuzzi – raced for Red Bull Racing, Scuderia Toro Rosso and Force India, at one stage attracted the attention of Ferrari after dominant performances in Formula 3000, raced for the HRT F1 Team before being replaced ahead of the 2012 season.

Sebastian Vettel – formerly a Red Bull Racing driver, race winner, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 Formula One World Drivers' Champion, he replaced David Coulthard at Red Bull for the 2009 season. Left for Ferrari at the end of the 2014 season. He had been a test driver for BMW Sauber, and raced for Carlin Motorsport in the World Series by Renault in 2007.

Scott Speed – raced for Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2006 and 2007. Raced the #82 Red Bull Racing Team Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series before being released by Red Bull after the 2010 season. Speed currently races in Global Rallycross for Andretti Autosport.

Daniel Ricciardo – reserve driver for Red Bull Racing and winner of the 2009 British Formula 3 season with Carlin Motorsport before being placed at HRT in 2011 and joining Toro Rosso in 2012. Signed up to replace Mark Webber at Red Bull for the 2014 season, taking three victories and finishing 3rd in the championship standings.

Jean-Éric Vergne – joined Toro Rosso for the 2012 season after finishing second in the 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season. Left the programme to become a test driver at Ferrari.

Daniil Kvyat – joined Toro Rosso for the 2014 season after claiming the GP3 title the previous year. Signed up to replace Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull for the 2015 season. Demoted to Scuderia Toro Rosso after the 2016 Russian GP. Replaced with Max Verstappen.

Carlos Sainz, Jr. – joined Toro Rosso for the 2015 season after claiming the Formula Renault 3.5 title the previous year.

Max Verstappen – joined Toro Rosso and the Red Bull programme for the 2015 season after finishing third in the 2014 European Formula 3 season. Promoted to Red Bull Racing for the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, which he won on debut.

As well as these, Red Bull supports many up-and-coming young drivers:

Jaime Alguersuari – raced for Scuderia Toro Rosso, substituted Sébastien Bourdais for the second half of the 2009 season before being replaced at the end of the 2011 season; he won British F3 in 2008 and raced in the World Series by Renault.

Mikhail Aleshin – raced in the World Series by Renault with Carlin Motorsport

Michael Ammermüller – raced in the GP2 Series with ART.

Sébastien Buemi – raced for Scuderia Toro Rosso from 2009 to 2011; he has participated in the GP2 Series Asia and GP2 Series for Trust Team Arden and in A1 Grand Prix with A1 Team Switzerland, as back-up to fellow Red Bull Junior Team driver Jani.

Colin Fleming – raced in the World Series by Renault with Carlin Motorsport.

Brendon Hartley – won the 2007 Formula Renault Europe at 17 and in 2008 races British Formula 3 with Carlin Motorsport.

Neel Jani – a test driver for Sauber, Red Bull Racing, and now Toro Rosso, whilst also representing Switzerland in A1 Grand Prix.

Adrian Zaugg – raced in World Series by Renault for Carlin Motorsport for a part-season and is currently racing in A1 Grand Prix for South Africa.

In 2004 Red Bull bought Jaguar Racing and renamed the team Red Bull Racing for the 2005 Formula One season. This offered an easy way in to Formula One for Red Bull Junior Team's drivers.

Red Bull Driver Search

Red Bull Driver Search was an American scheme run from 2002 to 2005 in parallel with the Red Bull Junior Team. Its aim was "Searching for the future American F1 Champion". Another goal was to create "the first ever All-American Formula 1 team."

There has been one clear star of Red Bull Driver Search: Scott Speed. After being one of four winners of the 2002 Red Bull Driver Search, Speed went on to compete in British Formula 3, before winning the German and Eurocup Formula Renault Championships. In 2005, Speed impressed onlookers with his performances in the GP2 Series and, after a short stint in A1 Grand Prix for A1 Team USA, Speed drove for Scuderia Toro Rosso in Formula One in the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

Red Bull Driver Search formally concluded on 17 October 2005. Part of the reason it concluded is because Speed successfully made it to Formula One.

A victim of its own success?

Many talented drivers have risen through the ranks of Red Bull's driver programmes — so many, in fact, that Red Bull did not have the space to bring all of their best drivers into Formula One. In the 2005 Formula One season the second Red Bull Racing seat was shared between Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi, with the drivers swapping between races. To further complicate matters, Scott Speed was vying for a place in Formula One but had to make do with being a non-racing third driver.

To solve this problem, in late 2005, Red Bull purchased the Minardi team to help promote more of its drivers into Formula One. Red Bull described the new outfit as a "Rookie Team", and renamed it as Scuderia Toro Rosso, Italian simply for "Team Red Bull". Liuzzi and Speed drove the cars for the 2006 and 2007 Formula One seasons. Sebastian Vettel replaced Speed permanently at Toro Rosso 3/4ths of the way through the 2007 season. Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais were the drivers for Toro Rosso in 2008. The team scored its first victory at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.

In 2009, Vettel moved from Toro Rosso to Red Bull's main team. He was succeeded at Scuderia Toro Rosso by Swiss driver Sebastian Buemi, also part of the Red Bull Junior Team.

Midway through 2009, the underperforming Bourdais was replaced by Jaime Alguersuari, another product of the Red Bull Junior Team, and his partnership with Buemi remained intact until the end of 2011.

This efficiency of drivers and the lack of F1 capacity was again shown during the 2011 season when Red Bull essentially rented a seat at back markers Hispania Racing for their Australian junior and 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 season runner up Daniel Ricciardo for the last 11 races of the season.

Buemi and Alguersuari both were replaced at Toro Rosso for the 2012 Formula One season by Ricciardo and 2011 Formula Renault season runner up Jean-Eric Vergne, the duo have both retained their seat for the 2013 season. In 2014, Ricciardo was promoted to Red Bull Racing, the "senior" team, and replaced by Daniil Kvyat. For 2015, Kvyat will move on to Red Bull Racing, taking the seat left vacant by Vettel, and he and Vergne (who followed Vettel to Ferrari) were replaced by Max Verstappen, who joined the Red Bull Junior Team in August, 2014, and Carlos Sainz Jr..

Daniil Kvyat and Max Verstappen traded places ahead of the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, with Verstappen promoted to Red Bull Racing and Kvyat returning to Scuderia Toro Rosso. Red Bull explained the decision to swap their drivers as being made to relieve pressure on Kvyat following criticism for his role in a first-lap accident in the Russian Grand Prix, and to ease ongoing tension between Verstappen and team-mate Carlos Sainz, Jr. at Toro Rosso.