Virtually half of the Method 1 grid in 2025 may have come from the Pink Bull Junior Crew, making it one of the profitable academy programmes in motorsport.
What’s the Pink Bull Junior Crew?
The Pink Bull Junior Crew is a driver growth programme operated by Austrian conglomerate Pink Bull GmbH, finest identified for its power drinks model, and headed by motorsport advisor Helmut Marko.
It was formally based in 2001 with the intention of signing and creating younger racing drivers, in order that they’re able to establishing profitable careers inside the trade.
This entails Pink Bull figuring out drivers from Method 2 proper all the way down to karting to fund and assist their development by means of the open-wheel ranks with aspirations of ultimately attending to F1.
Sebastian Vettel, BMW Sauber Third Driver
Photograph by: Sutton Pictures
Pink Bull made its F1 debut in 2005 after the corporate bought Jaguar Racing and thus took over its Milton Keynes base.
It was not a stellar debut 12 months for Pink Bull because it completed seventh within the championship, however the next season noticed the corporate broaden its presence on the grid.
That’s as a result of Pink Bull purchased the uncompetitive Minardi, an Italian squad that had been in F1 from 1985 to 2005.
The corporate rebranded the staff as Toro Rosso – which is ‘Pink Bull’ in Italian – to function Pink Bull’s junior squad in F1.
So, each time a Pink Bull junior driver has made their F1 debut, it has often include the Faenza-based squad and spectacular kind has then been rewarded with a promotion to the ‘A’ staff.
Race winner Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso
Photograph by: Sutton Pictures
All through the various rebrands, nonetheless, its sister outfit has develop into one in all F1’s most profitable groups in historical past.
Pink Bull has received eight drivers’ world championships (Vettel, 2010-13, and Verstappen, 2021-24) and 6 constructors’ titles (2010-13, 2022-23) whereas breaking many data like most victories in a season (21), most consecutive wins (15) and most factors in a marketing campaign (860).
However not each Pink Bull junior will attain F1, as many graduates of the programme are contesting different types of motorsport whether or not it’s the World Endurance Championship, IndyCar and even DTM.
Which F1 drivers have graduated from the Pink Bull Junior Crew?
Hadjar will develop into the seventeenth F1 driver to have graduated from the Pink Bull junior system when he makes his sequence debut in 2025.
The 20-year-old will companion Tsunoda at Racing Bulls after Lawson was promoted from the Italian outfit to develop into Verstappen’s team-mate subsequent season.
Pink Bull has a protracted historical past of signing drivers from its sister squad, with Vettel the primary to make that bounce in 2009 shortly after successful the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.
Daniel Ricciardo, Pink Bull Racing RB10
Photograph by: Daniel Kalisz
Given Vettel and Verstappen have every claimed 4 F1 world championships with Pink Bull, whereas Ricciardo received seven grands prix with the Austrian squad, the programme has many success tales.
However it is usually a really cut-throat programme. Ought to a driver not instantly carry out nicely, their future inside the system turns into beneath query.
Gasly, for instance, moved to Pink Bull in 2019 after a season and 1 / 4 with Toro Rosso. However, the Frenchman was demoted again to the ‘B’ staff after simply 12 grands prix having struggled towards Verstappen.
His successor didn’t fare a lot better both. Albon was promoted halfway by means of his rookie 12 months, however he was dropped from the ‘A’ staff after only a season and a half.
That adopted a really disappointing 2020 marketing campaign the place Albon completed seventh within the championship and 109 factors behind Verstappen, who was third.
Alexander Albon, Toro Rosso
Photograph by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Pictures
Sebastien Buemi, for instance, has develop into a four-time winner of the WEC after his three-year stint with Toro Rosso.
Ayumu Iwasa, in the meantime, is a Pink Bull junior within the Tremendous Method championship and IndyCar’s Callum Ilott spent 2015 within the programme – but neither have began a grand prix.
Nevertheless, his prior staff Racing Level, opted to interchange him with Vettel for 2021 which means Perez was and not using a drive regardless of ending a then career-equalling better of fourth within the championship.
So, contemplating Albon’s struggles, Pink Bull swiftly signed the free agent Perez shortly after the 2020 Abu Dhabi season finale on condition that on the time it didn’t have any junior drivers able to changing the Thai-Briton.
Nyck de Vries, AlphaTauri AT04
Photograph by: Erik Junius
Driver
F1 Crew(s)
Yr(s) in F1
F1 world titles
Pink Bull, Toro Rosso, Power India, HRT
2005-07; 2009-11
N/A
Scott Pace
Toro Rosso
2006-07
N/A
Christian Klien
Jaguar, Pink Bull, HRT
2004-06; 2010
N/A
2007-22
4 (2010-13)
Sebastien Buemi
Toro Rosso
2009-11
N/A
Toro Rosso
2009-11
N/A
2011-24
N/A
Toro Rosso
2012-14
N/A
Toro Rosso, Pink Bull, AlphaTauri
2014-17; 2019-20
N/A
2015 – current
N/A
Toro Rosso, Pink Bull
2015 – current
4 (2021-24)
Toro Rosso
2017-18
N/A
2017 – current
N/A
Toro Rosso, Pink Bull, Williams
2019 – current
N/A
AlphaTauri, RB, Racing Bulls
2021 – current
N/A
Liam Lawson
RB, Pink Bull
2023 – current
N/A
Racing Bulls
Incoming for 2025
N/A
Who’re the present drivers within the Pink Bull Junior Crew?
There are 16 drivers who’re at present within the Pink Bull Junior Crew beginning with Iwasa, who not too long ago completed fifth within the 2024 Tremendous Method championship.
The 23-year-old joined the system in 2021, the place he subsequently made his F3 debut earlier than a promotion to F2 simply the next season. Iwasa then spent two years in F2, scoring 5 wins and a finest end of fourth within the 2023 standings earlier than returning to his native nation to contest Japan’s prime single-seater sequence.
Iwasa additionally made his F1 session debut in 2024, as he drove for RB in first apply at the Japanese GP.
Different present members of the programme embrace Pepe Marti, who turned an F2 race winner in 2024, whereas Arvid Lindblad will make his sequence debut in 2025 having not too long ago completed fourth within the F3 championship as a rookie.
Nikola Tsolov and Niklas Schaufler will even be a part of the Pink Bull junior programme in 2025.
Driver
Yr joined
Racing sequence in 2024
Ayumu Iwasa
2021
Tremendous Method
Pepe Marti
2023
Method 2
Oliver Goethe
2023
Method 3
Method 2
Arvid Lindblad
2021
Method Regional Center East
Method 3
Tim Tramnitz
2023
Method 3
Nikola Tsolov
Becoming a member of in 2025
Method 3
Eurocup-3
Enzo Deligny
2023
Method Regional European
Method 4 UAE
Jules Caranta
2024
Method 4 UAE
French F4
Enzo Tarnvanichkul
2023
Spanish F4
Method Winter Collection
James Egozi
2024
Spanish F4
Method Winter Collection
Ernesto Rivera
2024
Spanish F4
Method Winter Collection
Fionn McLaughlin
2024
Karting
Scott Lindblom
2024
Karting
Rocco Coronel
2024
Karting
Christopher Feghali
2024
Karting
Niklas Schaufler
Becoming a member of in 2025
Karting
On this article
Ed Hardy
Method 1
Pink Bull Racing
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