Red Bull adjusted its philosophy: Is this how the team finds the new Verstappen?
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- Ludo van Denderen
When the lights go out in Australia for the first Grand Prix of 2025, only drivers who were once part of the Red Bull Young Driver Programme will start for Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls. So with Liam Lawson now as Max Verstappen' s teammate and Isack Hadjar, having progressed to Racing Bulls from Formula 2, the Austrians' training programme has once again proven itself.
Critics no doubt take umbrage at the word 'finally', after several years in which Red Bull relied on old hands like Sergio Perez, Nyck de Vries and Daniel Ricciardo - although the latter was a Red Bull junior in a grey past. However, with Hadjar and previously Lawson, it is becoming clear that the Austrians still prefer to look internally to young talent for reinforcement.
Horner explains small change
"I think the junior programme has been tremendously successful over the years," said Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner. "We're giving many, many drivers the opportunity of getting to Formula 1, and even if that's not with Red Bull Racing, that they've gone on to have careers in other teams."
Horner explained that the set-up of the training has changed. "It was, in previous years, quite top-heavy in talent in Formula 2, Formula 3. That's been inverted now, so we're going further down the chain. I think Helmut [Marko] has just signed his first nine-year-old. So we've got youngsters in karting, we've got youngsters in the junior formally, and it's always been a philosophy of Red Bull to invest in young talent. And that continues to very much be the case."
Lindblad the next Red Bull talent?
With Hadjar still waiting for his debut in F1, another talent is already waiting in the wings to make his entrance. Only 17-year-old Arvid Lindblad is seen by Red Bull as a top talent for the near future.
"I think that he's got the right attitude," Horner said. "He's got the right approach and determination. And certainly what we've seen in some of his racing, Silverstone in particular this year, he's a very talented driver. So only time will tell how good he is and how far he can go."
This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica.
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