AUTO / ISSUE #8
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AUTO / ISSUE #8
Header here please Young drivers
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
With almost half of the current Formula One drivers having participated in a young driver academy or junior team programme, are they now an essential step on the path to the top? TEXT: MARC CUTLER
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From left: former F1 driver Helmut Marko spearheads Red Bull’s driver development programme; Luca Baldesserri (top) and the Ferrari team coach F4 driver Lance Stroll; 16-year old Max Verstappen has been chosen by Marko to enter Formula One with Toro Rosso next year.
“If a driver comes into the pitlane and says the car is ‘crap’, it is hard to sort out crap. You have to come in and analyse the car.” Helmut Marko, head of Red Bull’s driver development programme, does not mince his words. But his point is a clear one. There is so much more to being a top driver than speed. Learning and understanding are essential. And this is where academies and young driver programmes have come into their own in recent years. Marko is basking in the glory of two recent success stories from the Red Bull Junior Team, the official name for its young driver programme. Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who joined the Junior Team in 2011, has already taken three grand prix wins this season and looks set for a long career at the top of the sport. Russian Daniil Kvyat joined the Junior Team in 2010 at the age of 16, made his debut with Toro Rosso last year and has been winning praise for his performances up and down the paddock this season. “I found him in karting,” says Marko about Kvyat with the air of an antique dealer who has picked up a Picasso in a pawn shop. “I have my contacts and my system and I know who is offering drivers. I watched him and in the older days we did tests at Estoril in identical cars. Everyone got a long run and qualifying and this is where we found him.”
Marko does not deny that Red Bull has a cut-throat philosophy for its programme. The entire aim is to find drivers for its two F1 teams and if a driver is not good enough he will be dropped without a safety net. “Some say it’s hard and tough but, for example, if someone has a weakness in qualifying and it doesn’t change during the season he will never succeed in Formula One.” One thing that Marko will not tolerate from any of his protégés is a lack of commitment. “They think they will be racing in F1 in two years because they are with Red Bull, but if they are not working hard or have the right commitment then it is not possible. Unfortunately, this is the reality. If we see someone who is at the disco every night during the weekend then I understand that they aren’t committed.” It helps to keep drivers in check that Red Bull can offer them financial stability. In addition to funding a drive, Red Bull will train its drivers in all areas from physiology to technical understanding. “We support them on the physical and vehicle side,” explains Marko. “We have a centre near Salzburg where they are trained. Red Bull has about 600 athletes who all train at the diagnostics centre. They go through certain tests, show them their weaknesses and how they can improve from there. We also have a system where,
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