Ever since Red Bull bought Minardi two decades ago, it has turned into a junior team, in a sense. While concerns over Red Bull having its own junior team in Formula 1 have always existed, what started off as Toro Rosso had served its purpose well.
The team has fielded cars for many future Red Bull drivers, including Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen, among others. Its main intention was to develop young drivers for a season or two before they gained promotion to Red Bull or sought out opportunities with other teams.
Though Helmut Marko has overseen the junior program at Red Bull since its inception, an evident shift has been visible in the junior team’s vision. Now known as Racing Bulls, the team have been allowing drivers to spend longer periods of time in their lineup.
What Racing Bulls' shift means
Over the past five seasons, we have seen Red Bull give some of their junior drivers longer stints with the team, despite having several talented Formula 2 drivers waiting for their turn.
Pierre Gasly spent four full seasons with the junior team, as well as two partial ones. Yuki Tsunoda spent four full seasons with AlphaTauri/Racing Bulls as well. Such long stints have been a rarity at Red Bull’s junior team over the years.
Even signing a seasoned veteran such as Daniel Ricciardo in 2023 would not have even been considered in the late 2000s. Although it very well could have been due to Ricciardo’s good history with Red Bull, coupled with maintaining a healthy relationship ever since he departed after 2018, it still doesn't align with the vision that once existed.
This change in vision for Racing Bulls could suggest that Red Bull have become more willing to let the team operate more freely, but also that they want them to produce high-quality results of their own. Performances from both Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson this past season brought Racing Bulls back to being a competitive midfield team.
It will be interesting to see what direction Laurent Mekies takes Racing Bulls, not only with Marko out, but because of the fact the team have decreased the number of drivers they oversee in Formula 2 and Formula 3 heading into the 2026 season.