Compared to F1 icon James Hunt for his “approach”, but not his “intensity”, Oliver Goethe stressed he is “working my butt off” for the new Formula 2 campaign.

That comes after a 2024 campaign which saw Red Bull driver programme boss Helmut Marko call out the young German’s attitude.

Oliver Goethe reflects on Red Bull experience

Signed to the Red Bull Junior Team in November 2023, Goethe continued in Formula 3 for the 2024 season, taking one win and three podiums overall before opportunity knocked.

Later that year he got the chance to step up to Formula 2 – moving from Campos to MP Motorsport – after Franco Colapinto was called up to Formula 1 by Williams to replace Logan Sargeant.

Goethe scored a P4 finish in the Qatar feature race as his best result, however, Marko was not fully satisfied with what he saw from their German prospect, at one point, in an interview with Motorsport-Total.com, saying Goethe reminded him of a James Hunt or Eddie Irvine “in terms of approach, but not in this intensity”.

1976 World Champion Hunt was famed for his flamboyant personality, and Marko had insisted Goethe “at some point has to show seriousness”.

Goethe was retained by Red Bull for 2025 and is readying for his first full season in Formula 2, remaining with MP Motorsport, which achieved the Drivers’ and Teams’ title double with Felipe Drugovich back in 2022.

And Goethe certainly has been taking his preparations for the season ahead very seriously indeed.

When asked by PlanetF1.com what it has been like so far as a Red Bull junior, and for his take on Marko’s comments, Goethe replied: “Yeah, it’s been positive so far with the academy.

“I go for preparation. They helped me a lot with, you know, simulator training before the races. They have ‘Rocky’ [Guillaume Rocquelin, head of the Red Bull driver academy] who’s a very experienced engineer, and who I learned a lot from.

“Yeah, all I can say is, recently, I’ve been working my butt off with training and with sim also. So I feel like I’m very ready for this year. That’s all I can say really.

“I’ve been training hard now, and hopefully the results can show that.”

More on the leading figures at Red Bull

👉 Inside Red Bull: Christian Horner and the other major players in Red Bull’s hierarchy

👉 What happened next? The nine Red Bull drivers who didn’t land the top seat

Red Bull will be well represented in F2 in 2025, Goethe joining fellow Red Bull juniors Arvid Lindblad and Pepe Marti on the grid.

Lindblad has been identified as Red Bull’s potential “next champion” by Marko, and a potential F1 2026 driver for their second team VCARB after Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hinted at 2025 being the last year for Yuki Tsunoda racing with the junior squad.

17-year-old Brit Lindblad has already claimed title glory in 2025, securing the Formula Regional Oceania crown, that coming after he won the prestigious Macau Grand Prix last year.

And heading into a potentially career-defining 2025 F2 campaign, Lindblad was asked whether Red Bull has set him any specific goals for the season?

“No, not that I’m aware of,” he replied.

“Obviously, the expectation is quite high, but there hasn’t been any sort of clear, fixed goal.

“I mean, I expect a lot from myself. I put a lot of pressure on myself. So I’m very focused on working hard and trying to be competitive and have a good year.”

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