Nearly half the drivers on the 2025 Formula 1 grid are products of the Red Bull academy. Even those who haven’t made it in Helmut Marko’s ruthless system have thrived elsewhere.
Of course, the crowning glory of the driver programme is Max Verstappen. The Dutchman has won the last four world titles to establish himself as an all-time great.
For the first time since 2020, all four drivers at Red Bull/Racing Bulls were developed in-house. Liam Lawson replaces Sergio Perez, an external hire, as Verstappen’s teammate.
| DRIVER | TEAM | JOINED |
| Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 2014 |
| Liam Lawson | Red Bull | 2019 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | 2019 |
| Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 2022 |
| Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 2014 |
| Jack Doohan | Alpine | 2017 |
| Carlos Sainz | Williams | 2010 |
| Alex Albon | Williams | 2012 |
Yuki Tsunoda stays at Faenza for a fifth straight season, now joined by last year’s F2 runner-up Isack Hadjar. Arvid Lindblad will look to be the next to graduate to the highest level.
Elsewhere, Carlos Sainz became a race-winner at Ferrari five years after leaving the Red Bull family. There were stops at Renault and McLaren along the way, and he’s now moved to Williams following Lewis Hamilton’s arrival.
Sainz’s new teammate Alex Albon partnered Verstappen for 18 months but struggled so badly he lost his spot in F1. However, he’s rebuilt his reputation at Williams, while his predecessor Pierre Gasly is about to become the de facto team leader at Alpine alongside another ex-Red Bull junior in Jack Doohan.
Jak Crawford could receive offer to race for Cadillac in 2026 Formula 1 season
Jak Crawford is another driver signed and then released by Red Bull. Crawford, who’s now on the books of Aston Martin, will compete in Formula 2 for a third straight season in 2025.
He finished fifth in last year’s championship, ahead of new Mercedes signing Kimi Antonelli and the Haas-bound Oliver Bearman. He currently boasts two wins and 11 podiums from 54 appearances in the series.
The 19-year-old is one of the brightest American talents in motorsport right now, so he’ll now be doubt be eyeing the vacancies at Cadillac. The General Motors subsidiary are joining the F1 grid next year as the sport’s 11th team.
According to Auto Motor und Sport, Crawford is an ‘outsider’ at this point. But given Cadillac’s desire to sign a US driver, it’s ‘conceivable’ that he’ll receive the ‘golden ticket’ on the back of another strong F2 season.
Cadillac advisor willing to sacrifice his ‘right arm’ to sign one driver
Crawford joined the Red Bull junior squad in 2020 and left at the end of 2023. Any hope of reaching F1 through Racing Bulls was therefore extinguished, but Cadillac offer a lifeline.
Cadillac have already held talks with Valtteri Bottas as they eye an experienced driver for one of their seats. Bottas will be the Mercedes reserve this year after losing his spot at Sauber.
They’ve also been strongly linked with IndyCar star Colton Herta, but he’s currently short of the requisite superlicence points. Cadillac could pay an F1 team to test Herta this year to address the issue.
Senior advisor Mario Andretti would give ‘his right arm’ to sign Max Verstappen, but they’re a long way from being able to attract talent of that calibre. Drivers like Verstappen would only consider joining when they became race-winners and title contenders.
