Autosport – 25 July 2019

Red Bull’s Formula 1

empire had humble

beginnings. The junior

programme, which

spawned from Helmut

Marko’s Red Bull-backed

Formula 3000 team, was

formally founded in the

early 2000s after Red

Bull’s initial young-driver

support allowed the

company to back talents

in different countries

at their discretion.

Of course there was

some payback. Red Bull

would benefit from the

exposure and the

connection in different

world markets,

particularly as it expanded

its junior set-up outside of

Europe. Talented drivers

could grab some support

• money, racewear,
  guidance – and Red Bull
  had a large pool of racers
  across the world decked
  out in the company’s
  colours. But that’s as
  far as it went because
  Red Bull had nothing
  at the top.
  When Red Bull bought

Jaguar, and then Minardi,

to form Red Bull Racing

and its junior F1 team

Toro Rosso, that changed.

Suddenly the junior

scheme had a much

bigger purpose with a

much grander end goal.

The stakes were raised,

and so were expectations.

Red Bull got ruthless: it

needed the best, drivers

capable of fighting for

wins and titles. So its

turnover increased and

that brought criticism

with it – criticism Marko

(above), Red Bull’s

motorsport advisor and

de facto young driver

programme chief, rejects.

“If you’re not winning in

a category straight away,

then you’re not the right

guy,” he tells Autosport.

“I don’t believe you

have to do three seasons

in whatever category

before you can go up to

the next one. We got a lot

of criticism about that,

which I would say is not

fair because most of

these drivers are in

other categories.

“They all make their

living out of racing. What

more can you expect

from your life?”

Two polar opposites

from the Red Bull junior

scheme, in terms of

how they handled their

rejection in an F1 context,

are the old Toro Rosso

team-mates Sebastien

Buemi and Jaime

Alguersuari. Buemi

still tests for Red Bull,

retains a promotional

contract and has won

titles in Formula E and

the World Endurance

Championship, not to

mention the Le Mans

24 Hours. Alguersuari

slipped into FE for one

season, left racing citing

medical grounds, and

became involved in

the music industry.

“During his driving he

was more interested in

being a DJ,” says Marko.

“He was up until four

or five o’clock in the

morning. You can’t

combine things like that.”

Another focal point

of Red Bull’s rejection

is Daniil Kvyat, who

is back at Toro Rosso

for the third time after

an unprecedented

rollercoaster journey with

the company. During his

second spell, after being

demoted from the senior

team, Kvyat’s plight led

some to question whether

Red Bull could do more

to help the young

individuals it takes on.

“We talk to them,

address problems, bring

them together with

professional people,”

Marko counters.

“We’ve done a lot and

we have spent a lot of

money. They all have fun

in other categories with an

income that is far higher

than what they could

earn in a normal job.”

Alguersuari (left) is no longer SUTTON

in motorsport, while Buemi

is now a world champion

GA

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HOW RED BULL CHANGED MOTORSPORT

22 AUTOSPORT.COM 25 JULY 2019

THE MAN BEHIND THE

WORLD’S MOST RUTHLESS

DRIVER SCHEME

“IF YOU’RE NOT

WINNING IN A

CATEGORY STRAIGHT

AWAY, YOU’RE NOT

THE RIGHT GUY”