In F1, nothing is guaranteed—least of all the future of Red Bull and Alpine’s drivers. But who are the young talents Helmut Marko and Flavio Briatore can rely on for their future plans?
There’s an atmosphere of uncertainty in two camps where tension has become the norm lately: Alpine and the Red Bull universe. At Alpine, following the Oscar Piastri management fiasco, unclear team cohesion, and no fewer than three Team Principals in five years, the team enters the second Briatore era. But the new cycle isn’t off to a particularly stable start. With Jack Doohan sidelined and recent rumors swirling around Franco Colapinto’s uncertain future, Briatore seems to prove the saying true: a leopard doesn’t change its spots—just like a certain colleague of his.
The history of the Austrian outfit and its Faenza-based junior team is well-known. Helmut Marko will be remembered, among other things, for his instinctive—and sometimes rash—management of the team’s four seats. One could almost say the two teams have seen more drivers than Murder, She Wrote has seen murders. But how long is the list of young drivers Flavio Briatore and Marko have at their disposal? Let’s go through who Alpine and Red Bull are betting on for their future in F1.
Red Bull Junior Team: can it withstand Marko’s shakeups?
The crown jewel is undoubtedly Arvid Lindblad, currently with two wins in his F2 debut after a solid F3 season. However, it seems Marko—between Max Verstappen’s license situation and Liam Lawson’s results—is already considering a promotion to F1, perhaps aiming to replicate Toto Wolff’s move with Antonelli. But throwing him to the wolves may not yield the same results as the Mercedes boss’s more fatherly approach. The answer seems obvious.
Then there are his teammates at Campos, Pepe Martí and Oliver Goethe, who, however, don’t seem to have Lindblad’s breakthrough potential. Meanwhile, in F3, Nikola Tsolov and Tim Tramnitz are doing well, currently second and third in the standings with two and one win respectively. There are also several drivers in lower categories. The F2-F3 pipeline seems relatively solid, and adding fresh talent to the Junior Team is clearly the least of Red Bull’s problems. The real challenge is different: finding drivers with true F1-level talent to keep the cycle running.
Alpine Academy: the Minì hope, Mercedes enters the scene
The Franco-British team’s Academy has only seen three of its drivers make an F1 debut with the works team: Heikki Kovalainen, Romain Grosjean, and Jack Doohan. We’re therefore talking about a development program with limited size and weight compared to Red Bull’s. With the promising Paul Aron as reserve driver, Enstone’s junior lineup includes Gabriele Minì and Kush Maini in F2. While the Italian has clearly demonstrated his talent, the Indian has been inconsistent. In F3, the only representative is Nicola Lacorte, who is fresh off a disqualification from a GP due to license penalty points.
That said, Alpine’s situation calls for a different perspective. Their policy has always leaned more toward the driver market than developing young talent, with a preference for those discarded by other Academies or teams—such as Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, and Daniel Ricciardo. Moreover, starting in 2026, Mercedes will supply Power Units to Alpine, and the Silver Arrows could use one of the two seats to place a young driver of their own—something they’ve neglected in recent years. Time will tell whether Alpine will benefit from the partnership, or if they’ll become a mere outpost for the Brackley squad.
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