Inside Red Bull’s new-look junior team with Alonso prodigy and four new signings
Red Bull have a reputation for promoting some of the finest talent through the junior team and onto the F1 grid with the likes of Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel among those to have risen through their ranks. However, heading into 2024 the driver academy is undergoing a transitional year with multiple new names joining the project.
The 2023 Formula 2 grid contained six cars with Red Bull liveries, but only one – Ayumu Iwasa – was close to championship contention. Therefore, for 2024, Christian Horner has confirmed that the reigning world champions will be focusing on the more junior ranks.
As part of these changes, multiple drivers have been cut from their F2 funding list. Zane Maloney, Dennis Hauger and Jak Crawford are all set to return to the series, but none of the trio will be sporting a Red Bull livery.
Ayumu Iwasa will stay with the team and step up his testing duties while also moving to Japan to compete in the Super Formula series that hosted Liam Lawson last season. Elsewhere, Isack Hadjar will remain a Red Bull-backed driver after completing FP1 sessions for them, as well as sister team AlphaTauri in 2023.
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Many expected Enzo Fittipaldi to join brother Pietro in making the move across the pond to IndyCar after completing a test with Dale Coyne Racing, but the Brazilian prospect is staying in F2 as a Red Bull driver, albeit with a new team behind him in Van Amersfoort Racing.
There is a new name joining Red Bull’s F2 roster in 2024 with Pepe Marti making the step up from Formula 3 with Campos. The 18-year-old won three races on his way to a fifth-place finish last season and is a part of Fernando Alonso’s management portfolio.
In line with the team’s commitment to finding talent further down the feeder series ladder, Marko has also added the German duo of Tim Tramnitz, Kacper Sztuka and Oliver Goethe to his F3 ranks. The latter is entering his sophomore year but his first as a Red Bull-affiliated driver.
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Sebastian Montoya will also be returning for another season on the third rung of the F1 ladder with Campos, while Arvid Lindblad makes the step up with perennial F3 frontrunners PREMA Racing following a strong campaign in the Italian F4 Championship.
Elsewhere, Japanese talent Souta Arao is expected to remain part of the academy for 2024, and Enzo Deligny is set to keep his funding despite a moment of madness during the final round of the Spanish F4 championship.
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