Every junior single-seater driver wants to reach the top of the pyramid: Formula 1. Those who are part of driver academies have a much greater chance of doing so. This series explores the performances of driver academy members in 2025. Today, Feeder Series spotlights the Red Bull Junior Team. 

By Marco Albertini and Martin Lloyd

This year has brought mixed fortunes for the Red Bull setup, which continued its incredibly strong record of taking junior drivers to F1. Arvid Lindblad finished sixth in F2 and will become the programme’s latest graduate, but not all drivers fared quite so well. 

Across the year, the programme featured 14 drivers, although that number has now shrunk to 12 with the departures of Pepe Martí and Niklas Schaufler. Recent alterations to the team’s website hint at further changes, with Oliver Goethe, Tim Tramnitz, Christopher El Feghali and Jules Caranta no longer listed as Red Bull Junior Team members. 

Red Bull have also lost Helmut Marko, who resigned from his advisory role to the team in December. The Austrian was a key decision-maker on junior team matters, meeting with drivers to set expectations and sign contracts, and it remains to be seen whether his departure affects how the programme is run going forward. However, they have retained the services of Guillaume Rocquelin, who has led the programme since April 2022. 

• Arvid Lindblad (F2, P6; FR Oceania, P1)
• Pepe Martí (F2, P8)
• Oliver Goethe (F2, P15)
• Nikola Tsolov (F3, P2; F2, P18*; Eurocup-3 SWC, P12*)
• Tim Tramnitz (F3, P4) 
• Mattia Colnaghi (Eurocup-3 SWC, P2; Eurocup-3, P1)
• Ernesto Rivera (FR Middle East, P9; Eurocup-3, P4; Eurocup-3 SWC, N/A)
• Jules Caranta (Eurocup-3 SWC, P7; Eurocup-3, P6)
• Enzo Tarnvanichkul (Eurocup-3 SWC, P13; Eurocup-3, P8; GB3, P17)
• Christopher El Feghali (Eurocup-4 SWC, P10; Spanish F4, P13; Eurocup-3, P25*; Saudi F4, P14*)
• Fionn McLaughlin (FWS, P3; British F4, P1)
• Niklas Schaufler (Eurocup-4 SWC, P7; Spanish F4, P10)
• Scott Kin Lindblom (Saudi F4, P3; Ginetta Junior, P4; Formula Trophy, P9*)
• Chiara Bättig (Saudi F4, P12; karting, various)
• Rocco Coronel (Spanish F4, N/A; Ginetta Juniors, P1)

Arvid Lindblad (F2, P6; FR Oceania, P1)

Much was expected of Lindblad at the start of 2025. He was stepping into the shoes of Isack Hadjar at Campos Racing after the Frenchman finished second in the 2024 F2 championship and moved to F1 with Racing Bulls. While Lindblad’s F2 season was not as successful as Hadjar’s, he still secured the coveted promotion to F1. 

Lindblad had notable high points, including a dominant feature race victory at Barcelona as well as sprint wins at Jeddah and Yas Marina. However, the British driver was not consistent enough to sustain a championship challenge, and he finished sixth in the final standings with 134 points. 

Lindblad’s switch to F1 was long mooted. He raced in and won the Formula Regional Oceania Championship during the winter to cross the 40-point FIA Super Licence threshold needed for an F1 race seat. He was 17 at the time but was given an exemption from the 18-year-old age limit by the FIA, allowing him to receive a Super Licence.

Later in the season, he engaged in multiple private test sessions with Red Bull before the move was confirmed, setting him up for a full race programme in 2026. Lindblad will be 18 years and 212 days old when the lights go out in Melbourne, making him the fourth youngest driver to start an F1 race.  

Pepe Martí (F2, P8)

Martí entered the 2025 F2 season as the senior driver at Campos, having finished 14th in the series in his debut campaign in 2024. With Lindblad’s earmarking for F1 shown by his FR Oceania exploits, Martí needed to trounce his teammate to impress the Red Bull bosses, but he was unable to do so. 

The Spaniard took three sprint wins at Sakhir, Spielberg and Budapest as well as two other podiums, but he was unable to consistently challenge for top honours in feature races. His closest call was third place in the Monza feature race, his only Sunday podium of the season.

Martí left the championship after the Baku round, when he sat one place and three points ahead of Lindblad in the standings, to join Cupra Kiro in Formula E. 

This move marked the end of Martí’s roughly two-year stint in the Red Bull Junior Team. Having joined towards the end of his breakout 2023 season in F3, the 20-year-old left the programme in sixth place in F2 with 112 points. After the last two rounds of the season, Martí dropped to eighth in the standings. Martí remains a Red Bull athlete, but his graduation to professional racing means he is no longer part of the junior team. 

Oliver Goethe (F2, P15)

Goethe joined MP Motorsport for his first full season of F2 in 2025 after having competed with the team in the last four rounds of 2024. Despite a number of promising showings, the German driver could only match his best result of fourth from the short spell in 2024.

He scored points on just seven occasions, with qualifying the stated root cause of his issues. The 21-year-old only qualified in the top 10 only four times in the first 12 rounds, limiting his ability to progress in races.

Towards the end of the season, Goethe began to find form, but he was undone by mistakes and bad luck. He was leading at Monza when a poorly timed safety car meant that his undercut strategy spectacularly backfired, and he eventually wound up 16th. Later, he qualified on pole in Qatar but was relegated to fourth because of a three-place penalty for impeding Martinius Stenshorne. He then retired from the feature race with a mechanical failure while running a net fourth.

Next season, Goethe will remain with MP Motorsport in F2. It is unclear whether he will remain in the Red Bull Junior Team, but he did sport their colours in the F2 post-season test at Yas Marina, which he topped.

Nikola Tsolov (F3, P2; F2, P18*; Eurocup-3 SWC, P12*)

Tsolov entered the Red Bull Junior Team in November 2024, having spent his first two F3 seasons with the Alpine Academy. The 18-year-old finished 22nd and 11th in those two seasons before producing his best display yet in 2025 to finish second in the drivers’ standings.

The Bulgarian began the year in the Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship. He only raced in the first round at Jerez, where he finished fourth in two of the three races. He finished 12th in the drivers’ standings. 

In his main campaign, the Campos Racing driver was unable to mount a serious challenge to champion Rafael Câmara. He finished 42 points behind the Brazilian, who claimed the title in Budapest with a round to spare. 

Tsolov took six podiums, including two wins, with his best moment coming at Monaco. Starting from pole position, he led every lap and set the fastest lap in the feature race in the Principality, finishing more than seven seconds ahead of second-placed Roman Bilinski. Tsolov’s performances were enough to impress the Red Bull hierarchy, and he was placed with Campos for the final two rounds of the F2 season in place of the departed Martí. 

The Bulgarian finished on the podium in just his third race at Yas Marina, ensuring that he finished 18th in the championship – just three places behind full-time driver Goethe. For 2026, Tsolov will continue with Red Bull and step up to F2 full-time with Campos. 

* Partial season

Tim Tramnitz (F3, P4) 

Tramnitz continued with MP Motorsport for a second season of F3 competition in 2025 after finishing ninth in 2024. Compared with last year, the German driver moved up five places in the drivers’ standings to fourth, but his 94-point haul was only a marginal improvement on what he scored before. 

He took his second F3 win in the sprint race at Imola and also finished on the podium in the feature races at Sakhir and Spielberg. After the Austrian round, Tramnitz only scored once more, finishing 10th in the final race at Monza, a day after losing the sprint race win to a penalty for not engaging the start set-up procedure correctly. Tramnitz was 24 points behind Rafael Câmara after Spielberg with four rounds remaining, but he eventually finished 72 points back. 

Fourth place was still a strong placement for a second season in the championship, putting him level with Franco Colapinto’s efforts with the Dutch team in 2023. His next steps, however, are currently uncertain. He was a candidate for an F2 seat with MP in 2026, but Goethe and Gabriele Minì ultimately took the seats. 

With a return to F3 unlikely and the F2 grid all but full, Tramnitz may look for a path towards Formula E, in which he competed in the Berlin rookie test in 2024 with Abt Cupra. Whatever the path forward, his future with Red Bull looks to be in doubt.

Mattia Colnaghi (Eurocup-3 SWC, P2; Eurocup-3, P1)

After his stunning come-from-behind Spanish F4 triumph in 2024, Mattia Colnaghi enjoyed a stellar 2025 that resulted in his signing with the Red Bull Junior Team.

Continuing with MP Motorsport, the Italian-Argentine driver began his year by taking part in the Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship as a prelude to a full season in the category.

He missed out on the winter series title to Maciej Gładysz after a difficult final round in Aragon but still took podiums in four of the eight races, with wins at Jerez and Portimão. In his main season in the full Eurocup-3 championship, Colnaghi took five wins and five further podiums in just 16 races. This impressive form caught Red Bull’s attention, and he was signed to their junior team in August of this year. 

He competed in two more Eurocup-3 rounds in Red Bull colours and eventually beat Valerio Rinicella to the title by 35 points. The 17-year-old closed the deal a round early with a 71-point margin, which allowed him to miss the finale and instead head to Macau to compete in the FR World Cup with PHM Racing. He finished fourth as the lead PHM car. 

Colnaghi will continue with MP Motorsport in F3 in 2026.

Ernesto Rivera (FR Middle East, P9; Eurocup-3, P4; Eurocup-3 SWC, N/A)

During an impressive debut season in car racing in 2024, Rivera joined Red Bull through the Red Bull Driver Search. His first full season while affiliated with Red Bull was in the FRegional Middle East Championship, in which he finished ninth with a podium in the second race at Lusail.

The Mexican driver then competed in the final round of the Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship at Aragón with Campos. He finished fifth in both races, although he did not score points as he was classified as a guest driver. 

Rivera competed with Campos in his main campaign in Eurocup-3, finishing fourth overall as the second-highest-placed rookie in the standings. While he was a hefty 80 points behind his now-stablemate Colnaghi, Rivera achieved seven podiums including three wins in what was a strong rookie campaign. 

In 2026, Rivera, now 17, will continue with Red Bull and Campos as he steps up to F3.

Jules Caranta (Eurocup-3 SWC, P7; Eurocup-3, P6)

Caranta joined the Red Bull Junior Team after partaking in last year’s Red Bull Driver Search. At this time, he was in the midst of a successful rookie year in French F4, which he ultimately finished third with four wins.

Caranta, like Tarnvanichkul, stepped up to Eurocup-3 for 2025 with Campos Racing. The 17-year-old French driver began the year in the Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship with Campos, scoring a lone podium at Jerez and closing out the winter season seventh in the points table. He remained with the Valencia-based outfit for the main season and took four podiums and two pole positions to end the year sixth in points as the third-highest-placed rookie.

No announcement has yet been made about his 2026 programme despite his strong debut Eurocup-3 season. He may leave single-seaters and join the new Campos team in the LMP3 category of endurance racing, but doing so would in all likelihood spell the end of his time as a Red Bull junior.

Enzo Tarnvanichkul (Eurocup-3 SWC, P13; Eurocup-3, P8; GB3, P17)

A part of the Red Bull Junior Team since his final year of karting in 2023, Tarnvanichkul entered 2025 after a difficult rookie year in Spanish F4 in which he scored just one podium and finished  12th in the drivers’ standings.

The 16-year-old Thai driver moved up to the FRegional level for this season. He joined Campos for a part-time schedule in the Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship before embarking on a full season in the main series. After finishing no higher than sixth in the winter championship, Tarnvanichkul also struggled in the main series, with only one top-five finish in the first three rounds.

But from the fourth round at Monza onwards, Tarnvanichkul’s form improved. He scored podiums both there and at Spa before he took his only win of the season in Jerez to end the year eighth in the points table.

Tarnvanichkul also competed in five rounds of GB3 with VRD Racing. He won the reverse-grid race at Brands Hatch and closed out the season 17th overall.

No announcement has yet been made about his 2026 programme.

Christopher El Feghali (Eurocup-4 SWC, P10; Spanish F4, P13; Eurocup-3, P25*; Saudi F4, P14*)

El Feghali joined Red Bull through the Red Bull Driver Search programme in September 2024 after an impressive karting career. After making guest appearances in late 2024, he raced in cars full-time for the first time in 2025.

Though most other Red Bull juniors in single-seaters were placed with either Campos or MP, the Lebanese driver competed throughout the season with Drivex, with whom he raced in the last six Spanish F4 races of 2024. First, El Feghali competed in the Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship. He finished 10th in the standings, with third places in the first races at Jerez and Portimão his best results.

The 16-year-old returned to Spanish F4 with Drivex for his main season, finishing 13th. Again, his best result was third at Portimão, this time in race two. While he would have hoped for a much better finish in the standings, El Feghali’s 53-point score handily beat those of his teammates. Gino Trappa came closest, finishing with 11 points after having competed in six of the seven rounds. 

El Feghali also participated in the Spa round of Eurocup-3 with Drivex but did not score a point. He raced in the final round of Saudi Arabian F4 at Jeddah and finished on the podium in race one. No announcement has yet been made about his 2026 programme.

* Partial season

Fionn McLaughlin (FWS, P3; British F4, P1)

McLaughlin joined the Red Bull Junior Team after participating in the Red Bull Driver Search during a strong final year in karting, in which he was third in the Champions of the Future Euro Series’ OK standings.

McLaughlin started the year in the Formula Winter Series with Hitech and immediately hit the ground running, winning race three at Portimão before scoring two more wins at Aragón – the second by lapping more than half the field – to finish third in points.

Remaining with Hitech to drive in British F4, McLaughlin again started strongly. He only finished off the podium twice in the first six races before winning at Snetterton and Oulton Park to take the lead in the standings. The 18-year-old Irishman never surrendered his lead from there. He took three more victories in the following five rounds to secure the title with two races to spare, 52.5 points ahead of Jimmy Pisczyk.

McLaughlin then ended the year by racing in the F4 World Cup in Macau. Despite having almost no practice time because of mechanical gremlins, he qualified seventh in a spare chassis and rose to second in the qualification race, but he crashed out on the final lap. McLaughlin climbed from 12th to sixth in the final race but was relegated to 13th after being given a 30-second penalty for being out of position at the safety car line.

McLaughlin will remain with Hitech for 2026. He will start the year by competing in FR Oceania before moving full-time to F3.

Niklas Schaufler (Eurocup-4 SWC, P7; Spanish F4, P10)

Schaufler joined the Red Bull Junior Team late last year after a successful final season in junior karting in which he won the WSK Champions Cup and Super Master Series. 

The 15-year-old began the year driving in the Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship with  MP Motorsport, scoring a best result of fourth three times and ending the winter seventh in the drivers’ standings. Schaufler remained with the Dutch team for his main season in Spanish F4 but still failed to reach the podium. This time, he finished fourth on four occasions to end the year 10th in the overall standings and fourth in the rookies’ standings.

At the end of his rookie year in single-seaters, Schaufler announced on Instagram that he would be parting ways with the Red Bull Junior Team ahead of 2026. No announcement has yet been made about his programme for next year.

Scott Kin Lindblom (Saudi F4, P3; Ginetta Junior, P4; Formula Trophy, P9*)

The Swedish driver joined Red Bull through the Red Bull Driver Search in August 2024 when still in karting. Unlike most Red Bull Junior Team drivers, Lindblom’s 2025 did not include a main season in junior single-seaters; he did not turn 15 until August, making him ineligible to compete in any FIA F4 series over the summer. Instead, Lindblom primarily raced in the Ginetta Junior Championship, a closed-cockpit support series for the British GT championship. He finished fourth with 428 points.

Lindblom then made his single-seater debut in the Saudi Arabian F4 championship, in which he finished third despite missing the season finale to race in Formula Trophy’s F1 support round. In the latter championship, he finished ninth, with two third-place finishes in the second Yas Marina round. 

Next year, he will take part in his first full year of F4 with Hitech in British F4. For Lindblom, the surroundings will be familiar, as Hitech ran all Saudi F4 entries this season.

* Partial season

Chiara Bättig (Saudi F4, P12; karting, various)

When she joined through the Red Bull Driver Search in August, Bättig became Switzerland’s first driver in the Red Bull Junior Team since 2008 and the first female driver in the main programme since 2013.

This year, the 15-year-old competed in senior karting. She finished as the runner-up in the Champions of the Future Academy Program’s OK-N standings and 15th in the FIA European Karting Championship’s OK standings earlier in the year. In the latter, Bättig scored a surprise pole position at Campillos and ran at the front during the heats, culminating in a fifth-place finish in the final.

Alongside those two series, Bättig competed in the WSK Super Master Series and the Champions of the Future Euro Series. She also took part in the Karting World Championship in September but didn’t make the final.

After joining the Red Bull Junior Team, Bättig made her single-seater debut in Saudi Arabian F4, representing Red Bull. In the five-round series, Bättig scored a best result of seventh in race one of the first Jeddah round and ended the year 12th in the drivers’ standings.

The Zürich native will continue on her single-seater trajectory in 2026, joining Hitech in British F4 for her first full year in junior single-seaters. 

Rocco Coronel (Spanish F4, N/A; Ginetta Juniors, P1)

With his ability to enter single-seater series constrained by the 15-year-old age limit in most F4 championships, Coronel honed his craft in Ginettas this year prior to turning 15 in October. He finished seventh in the one-round Ginetta Junior Winter Series in November 2024 before dominating the main series this year with R Racing.

The Dutchman took 11 wins, of which seven were consecutive. He finished on the podium on eight further occasions to clinch the title with two races remaining – neither of which he contested.

Coronel turned 15 in late October and made his single-seater debut in the season-ending Barcelona round of Spanish F4 with MP Motorsport. He took his first single-seater podium by finishing third in race two, though he didn’t score points as he was classified as a guest driver.

No announcement has yet been made about his 2026 programme, but Coronel has regularly tested F4 machinery with MP.

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