Red Bull, a “merciless” Junior Team

Red Bull, winning both world titles in Formula 1 this season, was able to show the merits of its training program for young drivers, the Red Bull Junior Team. Sebastian Vettel, supported for a time by BMW but followed by Red Bull from an early age, has in fact brought renewed credibility to a program sometimes criticized for its harshness. “ Vettel justifies all our efforts », Says Helmut Marko, in charge of the Junior sector at Red Bull, in an interview with AUTOhebdo.

For the former Austrian pilot? winner of 24 Hours of Le Mans ?, the German pilot is the symbol of this detection program. “ He was educated in the Red Bull Junior Team and, now, he is World Champion with the team. It is to achieve this that we created this sector. » If Red Bull is demanding with its young drivers, it is to keep only the best. “ In the past, we have been patient with some of our young drivers but we realized that it was of no use “, explains Dr. Marko.

In addition, this key man at Red Bull affirms that pushing young drivers to excellence is the best way to succeed and to only keep the strongest. “ What we try to do is give them mental, physical and technical education. They know they have to win. Otherwise, we let them go. It?s merciless but it?s the only solution. (?) If, in junior formulas, the young person does not show that he has all the required qualities, there is no point in insisting. »

Find the full interview with Helmut Marko in AUTOhebdo n°1780, in which he notably deciphers the journey of Jean-Eric Vergne, one of the four members of the Red Bull Junior Team.