Fionn McLaughlin seen during the Red Bull Driver Search in Jerez, Spain
After impressing in Red Bull Driver Search, Red Bull’s global scouting programme which aims to find the next F1 World Champion, 16-year-old Fionn McLaughlin from Northern Ireland will join the elite Red Bull Junior Driver Team.
Since its formation in 2001, the Red Bull Junior Driver team has been committed to developing the best young talent in motorsports. Currently the team consists of nine 15 to19-year-old racers driving in the Junior Formula Series and now the aggregation is growing.
The Red Bull Driver Search, which scouts, selects and tests promising young drivers from across the globe, to hoin the Red Bull Junior Driver Team. Led by Dr. Helmut Marko, Red Bull Motorsports Consultant and Head of the Red Bull Junior Driver programme, the search for future F1 champions began on the first week of August in Jerez, Spain.
A group of 11 invited candidates aged between 13-16 years old came from the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Lebanon and Mexico. From this aspiring group, the first drivers selected to join the programme were Fionn McLaughlin, as well as young Swedish talent Scott Lindblom.
The three-day event consisted of prospective young drivers trying and testing open-wheel F4 and GP3 racing cars in a shootout format.
Dr. Helmut Marko said: “What is important here is that we see most of them for the first time in a Formula car. How they adapt, how quickly they progress and how their improvement is during a 2-day test. We are looking for both talent and speed, a driver to win a Grand Prix. We are really focused on how good these drivers are under pressure and on qualifying simulations.”
“We don’t buy stars, we make stars. We give them the chance – they can use our simulators in Milton Keynes, they will have support with training and nutrition. It’s perfect preparation for Formula 1”, concludes Dr. Marko, a former professional racing driver.
The first driver to make the tough Red Bull Junior Team cut was 16-year-old Fionn McLaughlin from Londonderry, Northern Ireland. McLaughlin will move from Karting to an F4 series next season.
After a challenging, but rewarding days spent testing in Jerez, the Magherafelt youngster is aiming for the stars:
“My goal in racing is to be a world champion. I never give up; I work hard until I’m at the top. I will keep working until I’m there.”
Fionn’s racing role model, Sebastian Vettel, was a Red Bull Junior Driver graduate himself. “The driver that got me into racing was Sebastian Vettel. He has always been an inspiration to me.”
Fionn will be joined on the Red Bull Junior Team by 14-year-old Scott Lindblom from Sweden, who also impress in Spain. Lindblom will join the Red Bull family as a Karting driver. “My biggest challenge was adjusting my driving style from Karting to F4 because it was my first time in a F4 car”. But as Dr. Marko noted, “It was his first time in a Formula car, and he went out and was straight away competitive”.
More Red Bull Driver Search names going through to the programme will be announced soon.
Over the years, the Red Bull Junior Team has been successful in bringing a selection of drivers into Formula One. The Red Bull Driver Search has been pivotal in the process of scouting the talent. Five of the Red Bull Junior Team alumni; Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly, and Carlos Sainz Jr. have won a Formula One race, while Vettel and Verstappen have won at least three World Championships each.