Marko: Red Bull will consider its juniors, not Russell, for the future

Despite Russell’s Mercedes contract ending in a year’s time, Marko says Red Bull is focusing on its proteges

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko says the Austrian brand will mainly look at its junior drivers for the future, rather than established Formula 1 stars.

Red Bull is searching for the best driver to partner Max Verstappen in the future, due to incumbent Sergio Perez – who is under contract for next year – having struggled to match his team-mate lately.

Perez scored only 41 points in the latest 12 grands prix, just 21% of Verstappen’s tally of 195 – which has cost Red Bull dearly in the constructors’ title race, with McLaren taking a comfortable lead.

Hiring race winner George Russell could be an option for Red Bull, given his contract with Mercedes runs to the end of 2025 only. Yet, while Marko praises the Englishman, he says this is not a likely course of action.

“George Russell is on a par with [Lewis] Hamilton in qualifying, if not faster,” Marko admitted in an interview with Motorsport.com’s sister publication Formel1.de. “But Russell is Mercedes-Benz-affiliated, and now we are focusing on our juniors.

“We see this with [Franco] Colapinto, for example, he was relatively inexperienced and not very successful in the junior series, although it has to be said that he never had the best teams, but what an incredible performance he is putting in now.

“And now let’s see what our juniors or even a Yuki Tsunoda can do. He can also be described as a junior. But as I mentioned earlier, how does he compare to a Lawson?”

Christian Horner, Team Principal, Red Bull Racing, Helmut Marko, Consultant, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Crucially, Liam Lawson is back on the Formula 1 grid, this time as a full-time driver, replacing Daniel Ricciardo for the last six rounds of the 2024 campaign after the veteran’s performance failed to match Red Bull’s expectations.

Lawson will go up against Tsunoda, who has retained Red Bull’s trust but is yet to convince team leaders to give him a chance in the main squad.

Additionally, 20-year-old Isack Hadjar has been fighting for the Formula 2 title, while fellow Red Bull Junior Team member Arvid Lindblad finished fourth in Formula 3 this year.

Hadjar’s F2 rivals Colapinto and Oliver Bearman have made their mark in their first Formula 1 races, with the Argentinean driver’s eighth place for Williams in Baku a standout performance. This is evidence youngsters can be trusted to get satisfying results, Marko reckons.

“[Colapinto] is definitely someone for the future,” the Austrian said. “What he showed in Baku and in Singapore was very, very good. But I gave that as an example.

“You could also mention Bearman, who shows that juniors from Formula 2 have the potential to impress in Formula 1. Therefore, contrary to the past, as a top team you don’t necessarily need drivers that already have three or five years’ worth of experience.”