Red Bull scouts lost out on perfect teammate for Max Verstappen because they didn’t pay attention to his junior races

Since 2018, Max Verstappen has destroyed every teammate placed alongside him at Red Bull. After Daniel Ricciardo left the team, no driver has matched the Dutchman in the same car.

Pierre Gasly lasted just 12 races in 2019 before he was dropped back to Toro Rosso – now Racing Bulls – and was replaced by Alex Albon. But the Thai driver struggled to match Verstappen’s performance and was sacked at the end of 2020.

With the likes of Brendan Hartley and Daniil Kvyat also struggling to make an impression, Red Bull opted to go outside of their driver pool to sign Sergio Perez for 2021. In four seasons in Milton Keynes, the Mexican gradually lost confidence as Verstappen dominated him in the ground-effect era.

Perez bailed out of Red Bull at the end of 2024 in miserable form, after not finishing in the top five after the Miami GP. In his place, Liam Lawson was chosen by Christian Horner over Yuki Tsunoda for 2025, despite having significantly less experience in F1.

The decision proved damaging for the New Zealander as he lost total confidence at Red Bull. Failing to reach Q2 in the opening two races, Lawson has the shortest Red Bull career in history after he was dropped back down to Racing Bulls from Suzuka onwards.

Tsunoda has since stepped into the RB21, but is also struggling to get to grips with the car. Red Bull have had a huge problem with getting performance out of their young drivers, and they will be kicking themselves after missing out on a ‘great generation’ of future F1 stars.

Red Bull lost the chance to sign Lando Norris as a youngster because they didn’t pay attention to his junior races

After nine races in 2025, Verstappen sits third in the standings behind the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. The Woking-based outfit have been a real thorn in the Dutchman’s side in recent months as they look to take his crown this season.

Red Bull have made it no secret about their interest in the two McLaren drivers, with Helmut Marko having previously spoken to Lando Norris’ father amid links to the team. The Austrian chief advisor missed the perfect opportunity to sign the Brit in his junior days, however.

Speaking via the Motorsport.com Italia YouTube channel, journalist Roberto Chinchero pointed out that Red Bull missed the chance to sign the ‘great generation’ of drivers, such as Norris, Charles Leclerc and George Russell. They were not paying proper attention to them in their junior races.

“I mean, look at how Albon is doing today, Albon wouldn’t be useful today, Alex Albon at Red Bull. Wouldn’t Carlos Sainz be useful to him at Red Bull? I mean, I think so, but they all failed, without considering Gasly there, without considering others,” said Chinchero.

“And then, in the end, they ended up paying Perez and, I mean, I don’t know, it seems to me that there was a bit of confusion and at the youth level they also lost some great opportunities in scouting.

“Because they practically missed the generation of Leclerc, Russell, Norris, and they missed it. And they was also in the minor championships and in karting to be able to see them. They missed out on a great generation.”

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Why Lando Norris would have been the perfect teammate for Max Verstappen

Amid the speculation surrounding Norris and Piastri and their links to Red Bull, many have wondered how they would fair next to Verstappen if one of them made the switch from McLaren.

Potential drama between Piastri and Norris could present the opportunity for that to happen one day. The latter was Verstappen’s closest challenger in 2024, and would give the four-time champion the perfect teammate if he was to move to Red Bull.

With both having aggressive driving styles, Norris would provide the ultimate competition for Verstappen, something he has not had since 2018. Furthermore, the Brit’s data would be hugely beneficial for Red Bull, given they have had few points scored from the second car for over a year.

David Croft was reminded of Verstappen by Norris with his aggressive move on Piastri at Imola. His similar traits to the Dutchman, plus his experience of battling with Verstappen in 2024, make him the ideal competitor at Red Bull, if that move was to ever come to fruition.