Few drivers make it to Formula 1, but their odds of doing so skyrocket by being affiliated with an F1 team’s junior driver programme. This series explores the performances of driver academy members in 2023. Today’s spotlight: the Red Bull Junior Team.

By Finjo Muschlien

In 2023, seven Red Bull juniors competed in F2 and Super Formula, but none of them advanced to F1 for the following year. This conspicuous difficulty in stepping up to the highest class of motorsport raises questions about whether the drivers’ performances meet the standards required for this promotion.

A deeper look at each member of the Red Bull Junior Team shows, however, that most Red Bull juniors did perform well in 2023. Some may even have deserved to step up to F1, but they were simply unlucky not to find open spots on the grid.

Check out the e-book below to read all seven of the 2023 F1 driver academy reviews!

Liam Lawson (Super Formula, P2; F1, P20)

New Zealand’s brightest motorsport prospect, Lawson had a brilliant season in the Japanese Super Formula championship with Team Mugen in 2023. Having taken three race wins and one second-place finish, he ended the year second in the overall standings, missing out on becoming the series’ first rookie champion since 1996 by only eight points.

Lawson, who has been a member of the Red Bull Junior Team since 2019, also got his first F1 racing experience when he replaced the injured Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri for the Dutch, Italian, Singapore, Japanese and Qatar grands prix. In those five race weekends, Lawson showed a consistently high level of performance, outqualifying world champion Max Verstappen in Singapore and scoring two points come race day.

As of 2024, he will not race on a full-time basis in any championship, focusing instead on his duties as a reserve and test driver for Red Bull and AlphaTauri.

Ayumu Iwasa (F2, P4)

This year, Iwasa completed his second full season with DAMS in F2, finishing fourth in the overall standings. He took three victories and was a title contender for much of the season, though he fell behind rivals Théo Pourchaire and Frederik Vesti as the year wore on and ultimately dropped out of the running following qualifying for the Abu Dhabi finale.

A few days later, however, the 22-year-old got his first taste of F1 machinery when he tested for Red Bull in the young drivers’ test in Abu Dhabi.

Iwasa‘s 2024 plans, announced in November, will see him return to his home country to race in Super Formula with Mugen, replacing Lawson. In the post-season and rookie test two weeks ago, he got his first taste of the SF23 car and topped the timesheets on the final day of testing.

Enzo Fittipaldi (F2, P7)

After a strong first full season in F2 in 2022 with underdogs Charouz Racing System, Fittipaldi was approached by Red Bull to join their junior team for 2023. Making the switch to Rodin Carlin alongside fellow Red Bull junior Zane Maloney, he started the season well in Bahrain, securing a double points finish. He won the Spa sprint and achieved four more podiums, finishing seventh in the drivers’ championship after finding more consistency later in the year.

For 2024, Fittipaldi will join Van Amersfoort Racing in F2. He announced on Instagram in November that he would continue with Red Bull sponsorship for 2024, though whether that entails remaining part of the junior team remains unclear.

Dennis Hauger (F2, P8)

In his second season of F2, 20-year-old Hauger raced with MP Motorsport. The 2021 F3 champion achieved two sprint race victories and two more podiums and scored almost twice as many points as teammate and former Red Bull junior Jehan Daruvala.

Hauger announced in October that for the 2024 season, he would no longer be part of the Red Bull Junior Team after six years of affiliation with the programme. The Norwegian will, however, remain on the F2 grid with MP Motorsport.

Zane Maloney (F2, P10)

Having joined the Red Bull Junior Team for 2023, Maloney scored four podium finishes for Rodin Carlin in his first full F2 season. The 2022 F3 runner-up also participated in the F3 World Cup in Macau this year with the team, finishing eighth.

For 2024, Maloney will stay with Rodin Carlin, but it’s uncertain if he will remain part of the Red Bull Junior Team. Team owner David Dicker stated in October that he expected Maloney to be dropped by Red Bull.

Alongside his F2 duties next year, he will also be the reserve driver for the Andretti Formula E team for the upcoming season. Maloney already tested FE machinery when he took part in the rookie tests this year.

Jak Crawford (F2, P13; FRMEC, P28)

Crawford, 18, had his F2 debut season in 2023 with Hitech GP, the team with which he raced in FIA F3 in 2021. The American finished 13th overall after winning the sprint race in Spielberg and achieving four more podiums during the season, three of which were in sprint races.

Before his F2 campaign, he began the season in Dubai, participating in the first round of the Formula Regional Middle East Championship. His best result was eighth in the third race of that weekend.

Crawford parted ways with the Red Bull Junior Team after the Abu Dhabi F2 round. Nevertheless, he will continue his F2 journey next year with DAMS, the team for which Red Bull junior Iwasa raced in 2023.

Isack Hadjar (F2, P14)

Frenchman Hadjar, who was selected to participate in free practice sessions for AlphaTauri and Red Bull in 2023 alongside Lawson and FE champion Jake Dennis, surprisingly scored the fewest points among Red Bull juniors in F2 this year.

Despite being only 14th in the standings, Hitech’s Hadjar had a decent rookie season, winning the sprint race in Zandvoort – which awarded no points after heavy rain forced its abandonment two laps in – and securing another podium in the Spielberg sprint race. He also competed in the F3 World Cup in Macau, finishing in the top 10 in both the qualifying race and main race.

In 2024, Hadjar will contest his second F2 season alongside newly signed Red Bull junior Pepe Martí at Campos Racing.

Pepe Martí (F3, P5; FRMEC, P7)

Martí was announced as part of the Red Bull Junior Team at the end of the 2023 F3 season following his solid performances in the series this year. He finished the season fifth in the drivers’ standings, taking three wins and one more podium finish for Campos.

He also finished seventh in FRMEC, winning two races, and took fifth place in the F3 World Cup main race in Macau.

In 2024, 18-year-old Martí will have his first full season with Red Bull backing, racing in F2 with Campos.

Oliver Goethe (F3, P8)

Last year’s Euroformula Open champion Goethe completed his first full season in FIA F3 with Trident, securing a win and another podium, both in feature races. These results helped him finish eighth in the drivers’ championship, with his highlight being the win at Silverstone.

He was signed by the Red Bull Junior Team at the end of the 2023 season and will contest his second full season of F3 with Campos next year. Goethe already raced with them – and with Red Bull backing – at the F3 World Cup in Macau, where he finished ninth in the main race.

Sebastián Montoya (F3, P16; FRMEC, P21)

Montoya, the son of former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya, completed his first full season of FIA F3 with Hitech GP this year. He secured a best result of second in the sprint race in Melbourne and scored a total of 37 points, which put him 16th in the drivers’ championship.

He also participated in FRMEC with Hitech and in the F3 World Cup in Macau with Campos this year, though neither yielded noteworthy results.

In 2024, Montoya will stay in FIA F3, this time with Campos, the team with which he also raced at Zandvoort in 2022 as a substitute for the injured Hunter Yeany. It is not yet clear if he will retain Red Bull Junior Team backing.

Tim Tramnitz (FRECA, P3; FRMEC, P20; Euroformula Open, P12)

Tramnitz took three race wins and a total of 13 podiums across 29 races in three championships in 2023. His performances caught the attention of the Red Bull Junior Team, to which he was signed towards the end of the 2023 season.

Tramnitz’s year had its low points, for example when he collided with R-ace GP teammate Martinius Stenshorne in the second Formula Regional European Championship race at Imola. But there were plenty of high points, including his three podium finishes at Portimão in his Euroformula Open debut and his three FRECA wins – two at Barcelona and one at his home race at Hockenheim in the season finale.

Like Maloney, Tramnitz also took part in the FE rookie test with Abt Cupra in Berlin this year. For 2024, the Hamburg-raised racer is expected to step up to F3 with MP Motorsport after ending his second FRECA campaign third in the standings.

Souta Arao (GB3, P17)

Arao, the 2022 French F4 third-place finisher, participated in GB3 this year following his solid performances in his debut single-seater season. However, 2023 was a challenging season in which he struggled to meet expectations and had multiple setbacks. The Japanese racer finished 17th in GB3 for Hitech GP with a best result of fifth, secured at both Zandvoort and Donington Park.

His plans for 2024 haven’t been announced yet, but considering his membership to the Honda Formula Dream Project, a move back to Japan is a possibility.

Kacper Sztuka (Italian F4, P1; Formula Winter Series, P1; Euro 4, P8)

In his second full season of F4 racing, Sztuka took a total of 16 race wins in 33 races across the Formula Winter Series, Euro 4 and Italian F4.

Remaining with Gerhard Ungar and former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher’s US Racing outfit after having competed with them in 2022, Sztuka first won the FWS title with a round to spare. He then made the pendulum swing his way towards the end of the Italian F4 season by winning eight of the final nine races to usurp title rivals Arvid Lindblad and Ugo Ugochukwu.

As a result of his performances in 2023, Sztuka has been signed by the Red Bull Junior Team. He is expected to race in FIA F3 next year.

Arvid Lindblad (Italian F4, P3; Euro 4, P4; F4 UAE; P5)

In his first full season of single-seater racing, Lindblad teamed up with Prema to race in the Italian F4 championship, in which he won six races in total. He took a hat-trick of race wins at Monza partway through the season after a strong start, but having failed to score a podium thereafter, he came third in a breathtaking three-way title fight with McLaren junior Ugo Ugochukwu and newly announced Red Bull junior Sztuka.

However, his impressive performances in F4 meant that Prema re-signed him and promoted him to FIA F3 for 2024.

Lindblad also participated in F4 UAE with Hitech, finishing fifth with one victory, and in Euro 4 with Prema, in which he finished fourth with a win and three podiums. A late highlight was the F4 SEA non-championship round in Macau, where he took pole position and won both the qualifying race and the main race.

Enzo Deligny (Spanish F4, P4; Italian F4, P22; Euro 4, P19)

Deligny, 15, completed his debut single-seater season with Campos in Spanish F4 after joining the Red Bull Junior Team that winter. In just his second round at Aragon, the Frenchman won the first race and finished second in the other two races.

Deligny won two races and took eight more podiums in total. His consistent scoring wasn’t enough to put him in the championship conversation, but he finished fourth overall and with that became top rookie. In the final race of the year, he made headlines for a controversial defending manoeuvre on Valerio Rinicella at the start and for subsequently ignoring black flags.

Deligny’s 2024 plans haven’t been announced yet, though it is thought he is likely to move up to FRECA with R-ace GP.

Enzo Tarnvanichkul (karting, various)

Last year’s OK Junior world champion Tarnvanichkul, 14, stepped up to the OK class of karting this year, finishing fourth in the world championship at Franciacorta. He also finished ninth in the FIA Karting European Championship, fourth in the Champions of the Future series and 17th in a partial WSK Super Master Series campaign.

In October, two weeks after the conclusion of the world karting championship, Tarnvanichkul announced on Instagram that he would be leaving karting. His destination for 2024 is expected to be an F4 race seat, for which he will become eligible after turning 15 on 22 February. Campos in Spanish F4 is thought to be his most probable landing spot.

Header photo credit: Dutch Photo Agency / Red Bull Content Pool