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![\"Sebastian](\"https:\/\/cdn.motorsport.com\/images\/mgl\/YMd88332\/s1000\/sebastian-vettel-bmw-sauber-t-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSebastian Vettel, BMW Sauber Third Driver<\/p>\n
Photo by: Sutton Images<\/p>\n
Red Bull also owns two teams in motorsport\u2019s top single-seater championship: Red Bull Racing<\/a> and Racing Bulls<\/a>. Red Bull made its F1 debut in 2005 after the company purchased Jaguar Racing and thus took over its Milton Keynes base. It was not a stellar debut year for Red Bull as it finished seventh in the championship, but the following season saw the company expand its presence on the grid.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because Red Bull bought the uncompetitive Minardi, an Italian squad that had been in F1 from 1985 to 2005.\u00a0The company rebranded the team as Toro Rosso – which is \u2018Red Bull\u2019 in Italian – to serve as Red Bull\u2019s junior squad in F1.<\/p>\n So, whenever a Red Bull junior driver has made their F1 debut, it has usually come with the Faenza-based squad in which a promotion to the ‘A’ team then happens if they impress.<\/p>\n Since its debut in 2006, the Italian outfit has raced under many guises as \u2018Toro Rosso\u2019 was ditched for \u2018AlphaTauri\u2019, Red Bull\u2019s fashion brand, in 2020 before rebranding as \u2018RB<\/a>\u2019 in 2024. From 2025, Red Bull\u2019s sister team has been known as Racing Bulls. Race winner Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso<\/p>\n Photo by: Sutton Images<\/p>\n Throughout the many rebrands, however, its sister outfit has become one of F1\u2019s most successful teams in history. Red Bull has won eight drivers\u2019 world championships (Vettel, 2010-13, and Max Verstappen<\/a>, 2021-24) and six constructors\u2019 titles (2010-13, 2022-23), while breaking many records like the most victories in a season (21), most consecutive wins (15) and most points in a campaign (860).\u00a0<\/p>\n But not every Red Bull junior will reach F1, as many graduates of the programme are contesting other forms of motorsport whether it is the World Endurance Championship, IndyCar or even DTM.\u00a0<\/p>\n Which F1 drivers have graduated from the Red Bull Junior Team?<\/p>\n Arvid Lindblad will become the 18th F1 driver to have graduated from the Red Bull junior system when he makes his series debut in 2026.<\/p>\n The 18-year-old Briton will partner Lawson at Racing Bulls after Isack Hadjar<\/a>, the academy’s 17th F1 graduate, has become the latest driver to be pushed up to Red Bull.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Austrian outfit therefore\u00a0has a long history of signing drivers from its sister squad, with Vettel the first to make that jump in 2009 shortly after winning the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.<\/p>\n The eventual four-time world champion was a catalyst for drivers making the same transition, as Daniel Ricciardo<\/a> and Verstappen both joined Red Bull directly from Toro Rosso. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB10<\/p>\n Photo by: Daniel Kalisz<\/p>\n Given Vettel and Verstappen have each claimed four F1 world championships with Red Bull, while Ricciardo won seven grands prix with the team, the programme has many success stories.\u00a0<\/p>\n But it is also a very cut-throat programme. Should a driver not immediately perform well, their future within the system comes under threat.<\/p>\n Pierre Gasly<\/a>, for example, replaced Ricciardo\u00a0\u2013 who’d joined Renault\u00a0\u2013 in 2019 after a season and a quarter with Toro Rosso. But, the Frenchman was demoted back to the \u2018B\u2019 team after just 12 grands prix having significantly struggled against Verstappen. They aren’t the only examples of Red Bull being quick to pull the trigger though, as 2025 witnessed perhaps the most extreme example yet. Lawson started the year as Verstappen’s team-mate, but he was demoted back to Racing Bulls following two race weekends where he failed to score a point.<\/p>\n Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool<\/p>\n Lawson and Albon are also examples of Red Bull juniors contesting other forms of motorsport, as 2021 saw both of them enter DTM as AF Corse team-mates aboard a Ferrari<\/a> 488 GT3\u00a0\u2013 the Kiwi finished runner-up with Albon in sixth.\u00a0<\/p>\n Elsewhere, Red Bull graduate Sebastien Buemi has become a four-time WEC champion after his three-year stint with Toro Rosso. Ayumu Iwasa, meanwhile, is a Red Bull junior who became the 2025 Super Formula champion, while IndyCar\u2019s Callum Ilott spent 2015 in the programme\u00a0\u2013 yet neither have started a grand prix.<\/p>\n On a\u00a0rare occasion, Red Bull has also signed a driver from outside of its junior ranks, as Sergio Perez<\/a> replaced Albon for 2021 before staying with the Austrian outfit until the end of 2024. However, his prior team Racing Point opted to replace him with Vettel for 2021, meaning Perez was without a drive despite finishing a then career-equalling best of fourth in the championship.<\/p>\n So, considering Albon\u2019s struggles, Red Bull swiftly signed the free agent Perez shortly after the 2020 Abu Dhabi finale given that at the time it did not have any junior drivers capable of replacing the Thai-Briton.<\/p>\n Nyck de Vries, AlphaTauri AT04<\/p>\n Photo by: Erik Junius<\/p>\n Coulthard and Mark Webber<\/a> have also raced for Red Bull despite not coming through its ranks, likewise with Sebastien Bourdais and Nyck de Vries<\/a> at Toro Rosso\/AlphaTauri.\u00a0 Driver<\/p>\n F1 Team(s)<\/p>\n Year(s) in F1<\/p>\n F1 world titles<\/p>\n Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Force India, HRT<\/p>\n 2005-07; 2009-11<\/p>\n N\/A<\/p>\n Scott Speed<\/p>\n Toro Rosso<\/p>\n 2006-07<\/p>\n N\/A<\/p>\n Christian Klien<\/p>\n Jaguar, Red Bull, HRT<\/p>\n 2004-06; 2010<\/p>\n N\/A<\/p>\n BMW-Sauber, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Ferrari<\/a>, Aston Martin<\/p>\n 2007-22<\/p>\n 4 (2010-13)<\/p>\n Sebastien Buemi<\/p>\n Toro Rosso<\/p>\n 2009-11<\/p>\n N\/A<\/p>\n Toro Rosso<\/p>\n 2009-11<\/p>\n N\/A<\/p>\n HRT, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Renault, McLaren<\/a>, AlphaTauri, RB<\/p>\n 2011-24<\/p>\n N\/A<\/p>\n Toro Rosso<\/p>\n 2012-14<\/p>\n N\/A<\/p>\n Toro Rosso, Red Bull, AlphaTauri<\/p>\n 2014-17; 2019-20<\/p>\n N\/A<\/p>\n Toro Rosso, Renault, McLaren, Ferrari, Williams<\/a><\/p>\n 2015 – present<\/p>\n N\/A<\/p>\n Toro Rosso, Red Bull<\/p>\n 2015 – present<\/p>\n 4 (2021-24)<\/p>\n Toro Rosso<\/p>\n 2017-18<\/p>\n N\/A<\/p>\n
\nThis saw Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi<\/a> become the first two Red Bull juniors to compete in F1, as they both contested selected rounds of the 2005 season alongside 13-time grand prix winner David Coulthard<\/a>, who was signed from McLaren<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n ![\"Race](\"https:\/\/cdn.motorsport.com\/images\/mgl\/254PjKD0\/s1000\/race-winner-sebastian-vettel-t-1.jpg\")
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\n ![\"Daniel](\"https:\/\/cdn.motorsport.com\/images\/mgl\/YMdppnv2\/s1000\/daniel-ricciardo-red-bull-raci-1.jpg\")
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\nHis successor did not fare much better either. Alex Albon<\/a> was promoted midway through his rookie year, but he was dropped from the \u2018A\u2019 team after just a season and a half.
\nThat followed\u00a0a very disappointing 2020 campaign where Albon finished seventh in the championship and 109 points behind Verstappen, who was third. So the Thai-Briton was off the grid in 2021 before returning with Williams<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n![\"Max](\"https:\/\/cdn.motorsport.com\/images\/mgl\/0RrXLgv0\/s1000\/max-verstappen-red-bull-racing.jpg\")
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\nPerez made his F1 debut with Sauber<\/a>\u00a0in 2011 having had no previous affiliation to the energy drinks brand and over the years forged a respectable career, scoring a victory and 10 podiums before his move to Red Bull.<\/p>\n![\"Nyck](\"https:\/\/cdn.motorsport.com\/images\/mgl\/2jX9nNp6\/s1000\/nyck-de-vries-alphatauri-at04-1.jpg\")
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\nAll F1 graduates from the Red Bull Junior Team<\/p>\n