Imagine being the fastest guy on track. The best out there. Every corner finds you first , entering and exiting, every straight is not enough for you opponents to catch you under the positive effect that the slipstream and the DRS have on their speed. Tires behave the way you want, the car is almost always balanced and easy to trust, so you can push to the limit. You are number one, you are winning, the championship is yours, people applaud and chant your name, the future is bright. There is only one problem, you have just become champion of the FIA Formula 2 drivers championship. F1 is yet a dream to catch.
So, you are good, but you want to be the best. Who do you trust to help you?How do you find the money and sponsors in order to be able to compete in the feeder series so that you showcase your talent and also acquire practice and experience to meet your potential? Most importantly, how do you know that as much fast as you are, that there is going to be an available seat in F1 when you “graduate” and why would a team prefer you from someone else. Driving for a F1 academy makes sense for a lot of reasons, if you are able to get into one.
However, the most prominent F1 drivers academy , the Red Bull one, has been often come under criticism, for the way they handle matters. Pierre Gasly, the GP2 (F2) winner of 2016 and red bull driver academy member was driving for Toro Rosso up until 2019 when he was called to the Red Bull team to replace Daniel Riccardo and race alongside Max Verstappen. It is always a big challenge to drive for one of the big teams but for Gasly this was a dream come true. He had been fast throughout his entire life, winning podiums, wins, championships and advanced through the series as one of the successful drivers. He was already racing in F1 but being promoted to Red Bull meant that he could be fighting for podiums, pole positions, wins and even championships at some point.
Nothing worked out like that. Gasly found it extremely difficult to come to terms with the Red Bull car, the Team expected a lot from him and soon communication between Gasly, the mechanics and the Teams management took a bad turn. Gasly had a hard time most usually finding himself trying to fight for points instead of podiums and after 13 races he was replaced by Alex Albon. Pierre was sent back to Toro Rosso feeling gutted. Everybody outside of the team thought that the decision and most importantly the process was harsh. Red Bull seemed to not be able to support Gasly and find a way to communicate with him in order for him to be able to perform. Performance and results were the only parameters that Red Bull seemed to have taken under consideration for the decision. The most intriguing part was that many felt the seat was now in a manner of speaking cursed. Alex Albon was the new driver, but what could he do differently to persuade the Red Bull management he was worthy to stay longer than his predecessor? One and a half year later he was gone and out of a permanent F1 seat.
People around the paddock and fans started questioning the Academy , thinking that it did not produce race winning drivers as it was its purpose but it destroyed their careers. The statements of the Academy’s Team Principal Dr Helmut Marko, only made things worst since he is a person always speaking his mind out creating the impression of a strict unforgiving person that makes irrational calls.
Red Bull Drivers Junior Team is truly the lifework of Dr. Helmut Marko. Dr. Marko was a racing driver himself , winning the 1970 and 1971 Le Mans races and even competed for a few races in F1 , before an accident affected his vision, meaning he could not race anymore. Dr. Marko kept in touch with the world of racing and he was often seen around the F1 paddock managing drivers like Gerhard Berger and after that starting his own drivers managing firm within the feeder series. That firm later on became the Red Bull Driver junior team, when Dr. Marko and Dietrich Mateschitz came to an agreement. Red Bull Racing was founded in 2005 and Toro Rosso in 2006 and the Red Bull Junior Team became the official Junior Team for 2 F1 teams, meaning that the drivers had a clear path to F1, if they performed well enough.
The highlight of the Red Bull junior academy is considered to be Max Verstappen’s debut win in Spain in 2016 when in the age of 18 he switched teams overnight from Toro Rosso, to Red Bull and went on to win the race. Dr. Marko had come to great lengths to sign him up and keep him within the academy. He also had to do bold moves in order to convince Max and his father that the Team believed in him and could provide him what he needed to succeed. Max had his first F1 outing in a 2014 practice session, his first F1 race in 2015 and he was promoted to a top Team in 2016. Most of those moves were criticized as premature and unnecessary, but when Max stepped in that Red Bull and won the race , everyone realized that Dr. Marko and his Academy had hit Bull’s eye.
The years passed and the Academy came under pressure and criticism for the Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon Sagas. The fact that the academy worked with a lot of juniors that they could as well get dropped after a few years, did not help the fans view of the Academy.
However, if we examine the Academy’s story and their long term approach on their drivers career we, can detect a lot of commitment and a lot of success. First of all, we need to realize that the Academy’s purpose is to find talented junior drivers, finance their career, letting them concentrate more on driving and less on finding sponsors. The Academy provides training, simulator work and financial support. Moreover drivers are provided with a lot of opportunities like FP1 outings in F1, participation in DTM or other series and we can also argue that the Academy really cares about the its drivers future.
Pierre Gasly was demoted to Alpha Tauri but currently he is competing in his 6th season in F1 and soon will be starting his 7th. It is safe to say that he is now an established driver in F1 meaning that he can race for a lot more years , negotiate for big salaries and sponsorships and run a desirable career. He has also already acquired 3 podiums and 1 win. Pierre Gasly is a successful F1 driver and more success is coming.
Alex Albon lost his permanent seat in F1 in 2021 but he was kept as a reserve and simulation driver and he was given the opportunity to race in DTM. After that he signed a contract with Williams to return in F1. He is having a successful season and already renewed for the next season. Red Bull supported him and showed commitment during a difficult period.
Moreover the Red Bull Academy has fed F1 with some of the best drivers out there. 4-times world champion and legend of the sport Sebastian Vettel , 8 time race winner Daniel Riccardo, reigning world champion Max Verstappen, race winner Carlos Sainz are drivers who started from the Red Bull junior team.
A lot of other drivers had their chance in F1 because of the Academy. Daniel Kvyat, Yuki Tsunoda, Brendon Hartley, Sebastian Buemi, Jean Eric Vergne are some of them. Even those who left F1 went on to have great success in other series winning championships in Formula E and World Endurance Championship.
What is also important to note is that Red Bull Academy is trying to give time to their juniors to evolve. They often let them race for 2 or even 3 full seasons in F3 or F2 , even when they do not accomplish a lot, providing them the necessary time and money to try to evolve and bring out their potential.
An interesting stat that shows the success of the Red Bull drivers Academy is the fact that almost all of the teams in the current F1 paddock are trying to create some form of junior development team. Ferrari, Alpine, Williams, Mercedes, Mclaren, Alfa Romeo Sauber, and now Aston Martin are signing contracts with junior drivers , they support them in feeder series and try to sign them in an F1 team.
It is very hard to find your way towards F1 , even when you are fast and the choice to run for a F1 teams academy can be a serious hand of help. Yes, probably the really talented, the Max Verstappen’s and Lewis Hamilton’s of the junior series will sooner or later find their way into F1 (like Oscar Piastri did after an eventful year) but for most junior drivers the future is always uncertain and the ability to drive under the financial support and under the influence of an important stakeholder of F1 is a big opportunity.
The notorious Red Bull Driver Academy has shown that things can get difficult but it also has shown a big impact on a lot of drivers’ lives and careers and of course a huge impact on F1. 7 out of 20 current F1 drivers are Red Bull junior Academy graduates and 5 out of the last 12 drivers championships have been won by Red Bull drivers academy graduates. And that number is about to increase.
