The Red Bull Junior Team, commonly referred to as the Red Bull Driver Academy, is a driver development programme run by the conglomerate 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 held in 2005. Members of the Junior Team are financed and sponsored by Red Bull in lower racing formulae.
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. Two years later, in 2010, Vettel became the first Red Bull Junior graduate to win the Formula One World Championship.
In 2024, Red Bull formed a separate programme, called the Red Bull Ford Academy Programme, to support the team's F1 Academy drivers.
This list includes drivers who have graduated from the Junior Team to Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri/RB but have not raced for Red Bull Racing. Former Red Bull Junior Team drivers who have driven for Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri/RB and Red Bull Racing appear on the Graduates to Red Bull Racing table.
Championship titles highlighted in bold.
† denotes currently active Formula 1 drivers.
Former drivers
Championship titles highlighted in bold.
Graduates summary
The scheme has been successful, with several of the drivers backed by Red Bull making it into Formula One:
Sebastian Vettel – joined Toro Rosso for the second half of the 2007 season in Scott Speed's place, replaced David Coulthard at Red Bull Racing for the 2009 season. Became the 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 Formula One World Drivers' Champion, and left for Ferrari at the end of the 2014 season. He had been a test driver for BMW Sauber.
Jaime Alguersuari – raced for Scuderia Toro Rosso, substituted for Sébastien Bourdais for the second half of the 2009 season before being replaced at the end of the 2011 season. He had won British F3 in 2008 and raced in the World Series by Renault in 2009. In 2015 he retired from motorsport and is now a DJ.
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. Replaced by Pierre Gasly at Toro Rosso for the 2018 season, joined Ferrari as test and reserve driver. Rejoined Toro Rosso for the 2019 season before being replaced again at the end of 2020.
Max Verstappen – joined Toro Rosso for 2015 after finishing third in the 2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship, having been signed to the Red Bull programme midway through that season. Promoted to Red Bull Racing for the 2016 Spanish GP, which he won on debut. Became 2021, 2022, and 2023 Formula One World Drivers' Champion with Red Bull.
Pierre Gasly – debuted for Toro Rosso in the 2017 Malaysian GP after winning the 2016 GP2 Series. Joined Toro Rosso full time for the 2018 season. Promoted to Red Bull Racing for the 2019 season to replace Daniel Ricciardo. Demoted to Toro Rosso after the 2019 Hungarian GP.
Alexander Albon – re-signed by Red Bull ahead of the 2019 season to race for Toro Rosso after finishing third in the 2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship. Promoted to Red Bull Racing after the 2019 Hungarian GP, contract not renewed for 2021. Became a Red Bull test driver and joined their 2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters team. Returned to Formula One in 2022 with Williams.
Yuki Tsunoda – joined rebranded Scuderia AlphaTauri team for the 2021 season after coming third in Formula 2 the previous year.
As well as these, Red Bull has supported many up-and-coming young drivers:
Red Bull Driver Search was an American spin-off run from 2002 to 2005 in parallel with the Red Bull Junior Team. Its aim was "Searching for the future American F1 Champion". The winner was Scott Speed, who went on to compete in F1 in 2005 as a test driver for Red Bull.[citation needed]
Red Bull Academy Programme
In 2024, Red Bull set up the Red Bull Ford Academy Programme to support the team's F1 Academy drivers.[33][34] F1 Academy was founded by Formula One as a racing series aimed at developing and preparing young female drivers to progress to higher levels of competition.[35]
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^@redbulljuniorteam (12 October 2023). "Hello @tim_tramnitz 👋 We're excited to welcome Tim to the roster of promising young talents. Wishing him the best of luck this weekend in Zandvoort for Round 9 of #FRECA #RedBullJuniorTeam #GivesYouWings" – via Instagram.
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^"Patricio O'Ward joins Red Bull Junior Team for IndyCar campaign". 9 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
^"O'Ward splits with Red Bull – and enters the McLaren IndyCar frame". 20 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
^"The Red Bull Junior Team welcomes Jehan Daruvala". 20 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
^"RED BULL JUNIOR TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT 2020 - NO STOPPING THE JUNIORS RACING AND WINNING INTO A NEW SEASON". 28 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
^Wood, Ida (16 November 2023). "Jak Crawford to leave Red Bull Junior Team but stay in F2 for 2024". Formula Scout. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
^"Team Goh gets Red Bull backing for first Super Formula season". motorsport.com. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
^Klein, Jamie. "Super Formula: Ren Sato not giving up on overseas dream". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
^"Enzo Fittipaldi joins Red Bull programme for Carlin F2 move". motorsport.com. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
^ a bHarden, Oliver (16 October 2023). "Red Bull junior academy set for big shake-up with three drivers at risk". PlanetF1. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
^Łukasz Kuczera (8 November 2023). "Red Bull postawił na polski talent! Nadzieje na karierę w F1 wzrosły". wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 10 November 2023.
^"F1 Academy". Red Bull Racing. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
^Cooper, Adam (7 March 2024). "Ford F1 Academy deal shows support for Red Bull". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
^"F1 Academy: Formula 1 announces F1 Academy, a new all-female driver series for 2023". Formula 1. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
^Oracle Red Bull Racing (8 March 2024). "Oracle Red Bull Racing and Pepe Jeans London announce a debut ready-to-wear collection for Summer 2024". Red Bull Racing. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
^Cooper, Adam (7 March 2024). "Ford F1 Academy deal shows support for Red Bull". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
^Collantine, Keith (2 February 2024). "Red Bull's two F1 teams back trio of drivers in F1 Academy". RaceFans. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
^GP2 and Formula 3000 entry list and complete results Archived 19 January 2008 at the Wayback Machinespeedsportmag.com