Red Bull Junior Team: Dr Helmut Marko’s successor comes from Mercedes

The move had been on the cards, and now it’s official: Gwen Lagrue is moving from the Mercedes Young Drivers Programme to the Red Bull Junior Team. The Frenchman is set to take up the role of director at Red Bull Racing’s talent development programme, and will take on this new challenge next year.

The Mercedes team bid farewell with kind words to the man who had looked after talents such as Kimi Antonelli, George Russell and Esteban Ocon during their time in the junior programme: “Thank you, Gwen, it’s been a great time working together. Together we’ve trained many young drivers, including our current Formula 1 drivers George and Kimi, and you’ve made a fantastic contribution to that.”

“We have established a genuine succession plan for the first Mercedes-Benz Junior Team, and you are leaving us with a talented group who will carry on your work. Our professional relationship may be coming to an end, but we will always remain friends. We wish you all the best for your next challenge,” continues the statement published by the Mercedes-Benz works team on social media.

Lagrue will head up the entire programme at the Red Bull Junior Team and will therefore be responsible for the selection, development and promotion of the next generation of Formula 1 talent. He will report directly to Red Bull Racing CEO and Team Principal Laurent Mekies.

“Gwen is one of the best talent developers in Formula 1, and I know first-hand the level of expertise, leadership and passion he brings to supporting young drivers. The Red Bull Junior Programme has always been a cornerstone of Red Bull’s success, and the fact that Gwen is now taking the helm reflects the importance we continue to attach to nurturing the next generation of Formula 1 talent,” says Lagrue’s compatriot.

Laurent Mekies: Tribute to Dr Helmut Marko

And Mekies is also keen to thank his predecessor, Dr Helmut Marko: “Today, we would like to once again pay tribute to the extraordinary contribution Helmut Marko has made over more than two decades in establishing and leading the Junior Programme. Thanks to his vision, his commitment and his ability to discover and nurture exceptional talent, the junior programme has become the benchmark in Formula 1, and for that he deserves enormous credit.”

“As we write the next chapter of Oracle Red Bull Racing, attracting leaders of Gwen’s calibre is crucial to achieving our goals. We are strengthening our high-performance organisation with outstanding talent across all areas of the business, and Gwen is a vital addition to this journey. Together, we will build on an incredibly strong foundation and continue to develop the programme for the future,” adds the French engineer.

“A real honour” for Gwen Lagrue

Lagrue says: “For me, the move to Red Bull Racing marks the start of an exciting new chapter. After eleven unforgettable years at Mercedes, I felt that this was the right time to take on a new challenge and develop both personally and professionally. The Red Bull Junior Team is one of the most prestigious and successful driver development programmes in motorsport. It has produced some of the greatest talents Formula 1 has ever seen, and it is a real honour to have the opportunity to lead such a talented group of people and help shape the next chapter. I’m looking forward to working closely with Laurent and the whole team, and I’m very grateful for this opportunity.”

“Together, we are exceptionally well placed to build on the programme’s remarkable legacy, develop it further for the future, and to discover, nurture and prepare the next generation of F1 race winners and world champions – following the model that Oracle Red Bull Racing has successfully implemented over the last 20 years,” adds the future head of the Red Bull Junior Team.