Red Bull Racing announced their successor to Helmut Marko, who led the team’s junior program for a long time, as Gwen Lagrue of Mercedes.
Lagrue has been with Mercedes for 11 years, bringing along young talents like George Russell and Kimi Antonelli through the driver’s academy.
Naturally, with his success in identifying and developing talent, Lagrue is notably qualified to replace Marko, a Red Bull mainstay for years.
Marko had his fair share of successes, with Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, and Pierre Gasly all passing the legendary Red Bull program.
Oct 19, 2025; Austin, TX, USA; Oct 19, 2025; Austin, TX, USA; Oracle Red Bull Racing team principal Laurent Mekies arrives at the track before the start of the 2025 US Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas Austin. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Considering Red Bull’s approach of consistently rotating young drivers into Racing Bulls and eventually into the main team, they need someone who can really put together an academy.
Why Red Bull needed to hire Lagrue
With Laurent Mekies specializing in engineering, Lagrue can handle driver decisions and development, with the two complementing each other.
“Gwen is one of the very best talent developers in F1 and I know first-hand the expertise, leadership and passion he brings to developing young drivers,” Mekies said.
“The Red Bull Junior Program has always been a cornerstone of Red Bull’s success, and having Gwen lead it soon reflects the importance we continue to place on developing the next generation of F1 talent.
“We want to recognise another time today the extraordinary contribution Helmut Marko has made over more than two decades creating and leading the Junior Program.
“The Junior Program has become the benchmark in F1 because of his vision, commitment and ability to identify and develop exceptional talents, and he deserves enormous credit for that.
“As we continue to build the next chapter of Oracle Red Bull Racing, attracting leaders of Gwen’s caliber is fundamental to achieving our ambitions.
“We’re strengthening our high-performance organisation with outstanding people in every part of the business, and Gwen is an important addition of that journey. Together, we will build on an incredibly strong foundation while continuing to evolve the programme for the future.”
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – JULY 03: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing prepares to drive during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone Circuit on July 03, 2026 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202607030238 // Usage for editorial use only //
Now, Red Bull has officially moved on from the Christian Horner and Helmut Marko pairing that brought so much success and controversy.