Red Bull poaches Mercedes junior driver chief Lagrue to fill Marko void

Gwen Lagrue has left Mercedes to become Red Bull’s director of the junior driver programme, the two Formula 1 teams confirmed on Monday, with the Frenchman stepping into a role vacated by the retired Helmut Marko.

The move, first reported during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, sees one of the sport’s most respected talent developers switch from the Silver Arrows to the reigning constructors’ champions. Lagrue spent eleven years at Mercedes, where he oversaw the development of current F1 drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, among others.

Mercedes marked his departure with a warm tribute on social media. “Together, we’ve developed many young drivers, including our current F1 drivers George and Kimi, and you’ve made a fantastic contribution,” the team wrote. “We have built a true successor to the original Mercedes-Benz junior team, and you leave in place a talented group to carry on this work.”

Red Bull followed swiftly with their own announcement, confirming Lagrue will report directly to team principal and CEO Laurent Mekies. Mekies was effusive in his praise, describing Lagrue as “one of the very best talent developers in F1” and framing the appointment as a statement of intent about the programme’s future.

“The Red Bull Junior Programme has always been a cornerstone of Red Bull’s success, and having Gwen lead it reflects the importance we continue to place on developing the next generation of F1 talent,” Mekies said. He also paid tribute to Marko, crediting the Austrian’s “vision, commitment and ability to identify and develop exceptional talents” as the reason the programme became the benchmark in the sport.

Lagrue himself described the switch as a natural moment for a new challenge. “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,” he said. “The Red Bull Junior Programme 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.”

Marko, who guided the careers of Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, and a generation of Red Bull-backed drivers, stepped down from his advisory role at the end of the 2024 season. Lagrue’s appointment signals Red Bull’s determination to maintain the programme’s standing as the sport’s most productive driver pipeline.