Marko names these as the strongest talents in the Red Bull Junior Team

Six drivers from the Red Bull Junior Team are currently racing in Formula 2. Helmut Marko expects those drivers to have strong futures and, in conversation with GPblog, Red Bull's talent scout also looks beyond this series. The Austrian team also have great young talents driving in other categories.

No one comes close to Verstappen

GPblog spoke to Marko about the Red Bull junior team. In doing so, the Austrian gave an insight into how he scouts talents, what he looks for in the young drivers and how they are then coached at Red Bull. This has become increasingly professional in recent years, especially now that Guillaume Rocquelin has set up a school in Milton Keynes for young drivers.

In Formula 1, Red Bull Racing are top of both World Championships. Max Verstappen is the crown jewel in the Red Bull school, with two world titles under his belt already. "I can't see anyone who is anywhere near to Max. He's a talent which comes along maybe every 20 or 30 years," Marko said in an exclusive interview with GPblog.

Sergio Perez is Verstappen's teammate, while at AlphaTauri, Yuki Tsunoda is making great strides as a Red Bull junior. However, many Red Bull juniors are ready to claim a place on the Red Bull teams. With six drivers in the second-tier single-seater championship, Marko can at least compare his talents well.

Red Bull talents in F2

"We have quite a few drivers in F2. We are good in F2. We also have Liam Lawson, who is very successful in Japan, in Super Formula." The New Zealander has started his first season in Japan strongly. The 21-year-old driver won his first race in the class and later managed another win for Team Mugen at Autopolis. Lawson is second in the championship after five of the nine races, 12 points behind Ritomo Miyata. GPblog spoke to Lawson about racing in a different country after his first win in Japan.

In Formula 2, Red Bull have six juniors racing, but their performance is shaky for now. Ayumu Iwasa is the highest ranked. The Japanese driver won three races and is third in the championship, 28 points behind leader Frederik Vesti. Dennis Hauger was the only other Red Bull talent to win a race this year; the Norwegian is fifth in the championship. Behind them follow Enzo Fittipaldi (7th), Zane Maloney (9th), Jak Crawford (15th) and Isack Hadjar (16th), each still without a win.

F1 talents in the making?

There is no shortage of talent, however, as Red Bull already have many up-and-coming talents ready in Formula 4. "We have (Arvid) Lindblad. He's also very interesting. His father is Swedish. The mother is Indian originally. He's leading the Italian F4, which is the strongest," Marko said of the driver who races under British nationality. Lindblad trails McLaren's highly regarded Ugo Ugochukwu in the Italian F4 championship.

"And we have the youngest winner in F4. That's Enzo Deligny. His father is French-based with some US connections. Mother is Chinese. He is really hungry," Marko added. 

At the moment, Iwasa and Lawson seem to have the best chance of reaching F1 in 2024. Lawson was deemed not good enough after his third place in the F2 championship and had to mature in Japan. He is now impressing there with two wins, as is Iwasa in Formula 2. If it happens, Lawson and/or Iwasa would be the first since Tsunoda (2021) to switch from the Red Bull Junior Team to F1.