Red Bull’s move to bring Gwen Lagrue across from Mercedes has prompted former Formula 1 driver Johnny Herbert to suggest that the team may already be preparing for two very different futures: one built around Max Verstappen and another designed for life without the four-time world champion.
After a series of high-profile departures, beginning with Christian Horner’s departure from Red Bull last season, the Milton Keynes team has finally made a significant addition to its staff. However, Lagrue will not directly strengthen the technical structure headed by Pierre Waché or contribute to improving the performance of the car.
Why Gwen Lagrue matters to Max Verstappen’s Red Bull future
Red Bull has convinced Gwen Lagrue to leave Mercedes and take on a new challenge while inheriting an important responsibility within the organisation. Lagrue closely followed the development of Kimi Antonelli, from the Italian’s early days in karting through to his Formula 1 debut and promising position at the highest level of motorsport.
In other words, Lagrue is primarily a talent scout and driver-development specialist rather than a technical figure whose work will directly improve Red Bull’s car. That distinction makes his arrival particularly significant when considering the team’s longer-term plans and the wider rebuilding process surrounding Red Bull’s 2026 Formula 1 campaign.
According to Johnny Herbert, the appointment could serve two purposes. As well as filling the gap left by Helmut Marko and taking on an important part of his legacy, Lagrue could become a crucial figure in constructing Red Bull’s future driver line-up. That could include identifying and developing a potential “new Max Verstappen” should the Dutchman eventually decide to leave Red Bull in search of a different challenge.
“Knowing Lagrue, I know he has a very good understanding of what it takes to get the best out of drivers,” Johnny Herbert told Casinostugan. “A team is always aware that, when it has one of the best drivers of all time, it has to show Max Verstappen that it is doing everything possible to put the right ingredients in place to rebuild the team, that it is not sitting on its hands waiting for something to happen.”
The possibility of Max Verstappen eventually pursuing a different path continues to form part of the wider discussion around Red Bull’s long-term direction, with other former drivers also recently offering their views on Max Verstappen’s Red Bull future.
A crucial role in Red Bull’s next generation
Lagrue has only recently announced his move away from Mercedes, but his new position already appears set to carry considerable responsibility and pressure. Beyond laying the foundations for Red Bull’s future in the event that Max Verstappen eventually leaves, the former Mercedes figure could also find himself dealing with sudden changes within Laurent Mekies’ organisation.
That makes the development of Red Bull’s other drivers particularly important. Isack Hadjar, for example, could become an even more central figure in the team’s future plans, especially if circumstances surrounding Max Verstappen were ever to change. The French driver’s development has already been an important theme during the first half of the season, with Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull progress offering another indication of the importance of the team’s driver pipeline.
“Even if Max had already ‘gone’, had already completed a deal and was about to leave, you would still have to focus on Isack Hadjar and make him feel the right way within the team in order to get the best out of him,” Johnny Herbert explained. “Gwen Lagrue’s appointment could be interpreted in two ways. But a team is always aware that a driver could potentially leave in search of better opportunities.”
For Red Bull, Lagrue’s arrival therefore carries significance well beyond replacing a departing senior figure. His expertise could help the team strengthen the environment around its existing drivers while also preparing the next generation, giving Laurent Mekies’ organisation another important tool regardless of how Max Verstappen’s long-term future develops.
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