Red Bull have officially confirmed the appointment of Gwen Lagrue as Director of the Red Bull Junior Programme. Reporting directly to CEO and Team Principal Laurent Mekies, Lagrue joins from Mercedes having been in charge of the Silver Arrows' Junior Driver Programme since 2016.

Lagrue has played a central role in identifying and developing young prospects at Mercedes, helping guide current drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli all the way to full-time Formula 1 race seats, and battling at the top of the F1 standings. At Red Bull, it is anticipated he will fill the shoes of former motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, who led the Milton Keynes team's development of drivers such as Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel across two decades.

In a statement, team boss Mekies said: "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. The Red Bull Junior Programme has always been a cornerstone of Red Bull's success, and having Gwen lead it reflects the importance we continue to place on developing the next generation of F1 talent."

The Frenchman also made sure to pay tribute to Marko, who departed Red Bull after 20 years in December 2025. Mekies said: "We want to recognise another time today the extraordinary contribution Helmut Marko has made over more than two decades creating and leading the Junior Programme.

Meanwhile, Mekies has also delivered an update on Red Bull's timeline regarding the decision on whether to prioritise the RB22's development in 2026, or shift focus to 2027.

While Verstappen remains unhappy with the RB22 - even despite an impressive drive to P2 at the weekend's Hungarian GP - the Dutchman might have to accept he's stuck with his current machinery sooner rather than later, with Mekies confirming Red Bull's plan to shift their attention to 2027 development earlier than they had done the season prior.

After a question from GPblog about short-term plans, the Frenchman said: "At some stage we'll need to make a call on the balance between this year and next year. And I expect that to happen earlier than what we have done last year, especially as the regulations are how they are. So we will decide."

Mekies added that Red Bull have made an enormous development push in recent months, but that it is difficult to foresee the Austrian team continuing "at that rhythm." He continued: "As far as we are concerned, we have brought a huge amount of development to the car between race one and here in order to try to correct as soon as possible the large deficit we had initially.

"And it’s difficult to imagine that we will continue at that rhythm, but we nonetheless need to see what is the best way to try and close these last three tenths," he concluded, without indication on when Red Bull would bring the next update package.