Is Red Bull program being thinned out? 'Not a Verstappen every season'

Horner reconsiders philosophy junior programme Red Bull

Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel are two of the biggest success stories of the Red Bull programme. "It works in waves," Horner says in the ESPN F1 podcast about the successes of the Red Bull programme. Other lesser successes but certainly great drivers from the programme include Carlos Sainz, Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon.

With Sergio Perez alongside Max Verstappen and Ricciardo at AlphaTauri alongside Tsunoda, Red Bull's current line-up does not quite reflect what the junior programme stands for. Perez is not a Red Bull junior and Ricciardo, at 33, does not really belong at AlphaTauri. Horner says it may be time to shift focus again and that is potentially bad news for the very large group of Red Bull drivers driving in F2 who are apparently just not strong enough for F1.

'Group of F2 drivers thinning out'

This group includes Dennis Hauger, Ayumu Iwasa, Jak Crawford, Isack Hadjar, Enzo Fittipaldi and Zane Maloney. Horner: "We are going to focus more on youth from now on I think. We have a lot of drivers in F2 this year. I think we are going to thin that out. In the future, we might focus more on the lower formula classes." In addition to the drivers in F2, the team also has promising talents outside, such as Liam Lawson in Japanese Super Formula.

Horner concludes, "A Max Verstappen or Sebastian Vettel don't just come along every season. It is important to identify the talent the moment it does come by."