Although the Racing Bulls team no longer relies on junior drivers, Laurent Mekies says that they still have the desire to hand over good drivers to Red Bull
Although Team Racing Bulls wants to separate itself a little from its sister team and no longer sees itself as a pure junior team, the aim is still for drivers to be able to apply to the racing team for the A-Team
“It’s part of the game,” team principal Laurent Mekies told Motorsport.com’s Italian language edition. “We know that one of the objectives of our project is to be ready to give up a driver should Red Bull need one. This is part of the team’s DNA and always has been.”
Red Bull bought the ailing Minardi team and renamed it Toro Rosso in 2006. The clear aim was to enable young drivers to enter Formula 1 and to pass on the best candidates to Red Bull.
The racing team from Faenza enabled Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon, among others, to enter and progress, but this system has not worked in the same way for some time now.
With Sergio Perez, Red Bull has preferred to rely on an external candidate for the past three years, and the Racing Bulls team, as Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri has been known since 2024, no longer has any youngsters driving either: Yuki Tsunoda is already in his fourth Formula 1 season and Daniel Ricciardo, at 34, can hardly be described as a rookie.
The Australian would like to recommend himself to Red Bull after his comeback, but so far this season he has not been able to do so. 0:2 is the score in his internal qualifying duel with Tsunoda, and if RB had not swapped places in Bahrain, he would not have finished ahead of the Japanese driver in the race either
Marko: Ricciardo has to come up with something
Recently in Saudi Arabia, he finished a sobering 16th, including a spin at the end, in which frustration also played a role. It doesn’t look like he will be moving up to Red Bull at the moment: “Ricciardo will have to come up with something soon,” Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko also told Speedweek.
However, team boss Laurent Mekies praises his protégé: “I think he is motivated and focused. We have rediscovered a driver who works at a very high technical level and, in addition to his speed, represents great added value for the team,” he says. “It’s nice to see a very happy and smiling Daniel. “
Tsunoda, on the other hand, he praises for his “significant steps towards maturity”, which he demonstrates every season. “And if he continues like this, he will reach a very, very exciting level,” believes Mekies. “The team has always trusted him, pampered him and allowed him to integrate more and more and grow year on year.”
He considers his pairing to be the “ideal” one for his team, but 2024 is still an important year for both of them. “There is a lot at stake for both Yuki and Daniel this season,” says Helmut Marko.
Many drivers are pushing from the outside
Because only those who beat the others have any chance of a future in Formula 1 or with Red Bull. Some young drivers are already pushing for their chance from behind. Formula 2 driver Isack Hadjar has already been able to complete a free practice session for both teams and is highly favored by Red Bull, even though the start of the Formula 2 season did not go according to plan
And then there’s Liam Lawson, who was a strong replacement for the hand-injured Ricciardo in 2023 and who many believe should have been in VCARB 01 in 2024.
“Liam was a nice surprise last year,” says Mekies. “We know that we have to give him every chance to sit in the car. He tested at Imola and will be our reserve driver for the whole season. And then we will see about the future. “
