Red Bull have helped to forge the careers of many of Formula 1’s biggest stars and their setup means that they are well placed to do so for years to come.
Max Verstappen called Isack Hadjar ‘great’ after he received a promotion to the Racing Bulls team for the 2025 season. Hadjar is the latest in a long line of talent to come through their production line.
Verstappen is arguably the most successful of anyone they have helped to rise through the junior ranks and he will have a new teammate next year when Liam Lawson arrives.
But the Dutchman has had four teammates during his time with the team and each of them have struggled at certain points.
Sergio Perez and Alex Albon struggled against Verstappen and were the last two drivers who failed to live up to the team’s expectations of them, leading to the signing of Lawson.
Team boss Christian Horner doesn’t expect his drivers to be level with each other, but after Red Bull lost the Constructors’ Championship this season, he does expect a higher level of performance from his second car.
Christian Horner says Pierre Gasly wouldn’t have received ‘chance’ to be in F1 without Red Bull
Another victim of Verstappen’s abilities was current Alpine driver Pierre Gasly, who partnered him for 12 races before being dropped during the 2019 season.
He eventually left the Red Bull family after three further years in the junior team at AlphaTauri where he realised that he couldn’t return to the senior team one day.
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Speaking about Gasly’s performance back in 2020 to Netflix’s Drive to Survive crew (Season three, episode six) he delivered a brutal assessment of his career.
“To drive for Red Bull, this team is all about delivering,” he said. “Pierre’s driven some good races this year, but he’s also shown some dips as well. Pierre wouldn’t have had the chance to be in Formula 1 without Red Bull.
“The reality is, when you get there if you can’t cope with the pressure and scrutiny, you’re never going to make it at the highest level in Formula 1.”
Will Pierre Gasly ever receive the opportunity to return to Red Bull?
It’s hard to see a scenario where Gasly ever returns to Red Bull, especially since they had a strong list of options who were considered ahead of him for their 2025 opening.
Maybe if they were to lose Verstappen one day, they would seek an experienced alternative which he could provide.
READ MORE: How Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull engineer has helped Isack Hadjar ‘Learn so much’ ahead of F1 debut
However, he hasn’t done anything spectacular since and looks set to lead Alpine’s efforts for the next few years after they signed rookie Jack Doohan to their ranks.
It’s a project that he has been a big part of for a while now, so leaving it may be a decision that he comes to regret if they find some performance gains.
He has to hope that they can catch up to Red Bull if he hopes to remain close to one of their cars again in the future, and crazier things have happened recently (McLaren’s incredible rise).
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