Red Bull appoint Mercedes talent chief Gwen Lagrue as Helmut Marko successor

• Red Bull has appointed former Mercedes talent developer Gwen Lagrue to lead its Junior Programme from 2027, succeeding Helmut Marko after more than two decades overseeing the team’s driver academy.
• Lagrue arrives after 11 years at Mercedes, where he played a key role in developing drivers including Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, as Red Bull looks to build on one of Formula 1’s most successful junior programmes.
• Red Bull has praised Marko’s legacy of discovering and nurturing world-class talent, while Lagrue says he is excited to continue developing the next generation of Formula 1 race winners and world champions.

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Red Bull have at last found a successor to the former chief of its infamous young driver programme, Helmut Marko, with Mercedes talent developer Gwen Lagrue recruited by the energy drinks giant.

Having spent 11 years with rivals Mercedes, Lagrue will effectively succeed Dr Marko as Director of the Red Bull Junior Programme from 2027 onwards. During his time with the Silver Arrows, he helped develop current Mercedes talents Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

“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,” said Red Bull CEO and team principal Laurent Mekies in a press release.

“The Red Bull Junior Program has always been a cornerstone of Red Bull’s success, and having Gwen lead it soon reflects the importance we continue to place on developing the next generation of F1 talent.

“We want to recognise once again today the extraordinary contribution Helmut Marko has made over more than two decades creating and leading the Junior Program.

“The Junior Program has become the benchmark in F1 because of his vision, commitment and ability to identify and develop exceptional talents, and he deserves enormous credit for that.

“As we continue to build the next chapter of Oracle Red Bull Racing, attracting leaders of Gwen’s calibre is fundamental to achieving our ambitions.

“We’re strengthening our high-performance organisation with outstanding people in every part of the business, and Gwen is an important addition to that journey.

“Together, we will build on an incredibly strong foundation while continuing to evolve the program for the future.”

The 83-year-old Marko, who was an influential figure at Red Bull after uncovering championship-winning talent in Sebastian Vettel and later Max Verstappen, left his role as Red Bull’s motorsport advisor at the end of 2025.

Ending more than two decades overseeing Red Bull’s young driver programme, Marko became known as the architect of the team’s often-brutal driver demotions. He was also renowned for his straight-talking nature, with his comments frequently attracting negative headlines.

However, the likes of Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson and, more recently, Arvid Lindblad all have Marko’s guidance as Red Bull’s young driver chief to thank for their Formula 1 careers.

Lagrue said in the statement that the move to Red Bull represents a new challenge, with both professional and personal growth at its core.

“Joining Oracle Red Bull Racing marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for me. After eleven memorable years at Mercedes, I felt this was the right moment to take on a new challenge and continue growing personally and professionally.

“The Red Bull Junior Programme is one of the most respected and successful driver development programmes in motorsport. It has produced some of the greatest talents F1 has ever seen, and it is a real honour to have the opportunity to lead such a talented group of people and help shape its next chapter.

“I’m looking forward to working closely with Laurent as well as the entire team and I am very thankful for this opportunity.

“Together, we have a fantastic framework to build on the programme’s remarkable legacy, continue to evolve it for the future, and identify, develop and prepare the next generation of F1 race winners and World Champions, following a pattern Oracle Red Bull Racing has successfully repeated over the past 20 years.”

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Written by

Jawad Yaqub

An eCommerce Specialist by day and reporting on F1 by night. Jawad is passionate about motorsport, having provided accredited F1 coverage for more than a decade and is a member of the AIPS (International Sports Press Association). Live blogging (almost) every grand prix too since 2014, as well as articles on the Supercars Championship. Also keen on sustainability, photography, collecting vinyl, (trying to) expertly barbeque and learning to Dad.

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