Red Bull Racing took home their 100th Formula 1 Race victory last time out in Canada and it’s crazy how most of their drivers that won races for the team came from the Red Bull Junior Programme. Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo have all moved up through the ranks with Red Bull before winning races with the main team whilst the likes of Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly started their careers at Toro Rosso (Red Bull’s second team, now known as Alpha Tauri) and went on to win Grand Prix’s as well. There’s been a lot of speculation recently about Sergio Perez underperforming in his Red Bull whilst Nyck de Vries also hasn’t delivered in his Alpha Tauri. If de Vries gets replaced at some point during the season or Yuki Tsunoda moves up to the first team in place of Checo, it would be logical for Red Bull to promote one of their junior drivers into the pinnacle of motorsport. Because of this, today’s debate is “Which Red Bull Junior Driver deserves a spot on the Formula 1 Grid the most?” I’m not including drivers that race in the third, 4th or even karting tiers because that would be pointless for this question.
Liam Lawson
Liam Lawson is a 21-year-old New Zealand racing driver who currently drives for Team Mugen in Super Formula. Liam previously won both the 2016 NZ F1600 Championship Series (he won 14 of the 15 races) and the 2019 Toyota Racing Series and he’s also finished second plenty of times in championships such as Euroformula Open and DTM. Lawson also spent two seasons in FIA Formula 2 and during that time, he achieved 5 race victories and had a highest championship finish of 3rd (2022). Lawson was signed to the Red Bull Junior Programme in February 2019. So far in 2023, Liam is second in Super Formula with two race victories and one Pole position to his name. For people that aren’t aware of if Super Formula is competitive or not, Stoffel Vandoorne and Pierre Gasly have both driven in the series and then joined Formula 1 a year later whilst Alex Palou, who finished as Rookie of the Year in 2019, went on to win IndyCar just two years later. There’s no doubt that Liam Lawson is a quick driver and he also happens to be Reserve Driver for both Red Bull and Alpha Tauri this season.
Jak Crawford
Jak Crawford is an 18-year-old American racing driver who currently drives for Hitech Pulse-Eight in FIA Formula 2. Jak previously finished 2nd in both the 2018-19 NACAM Formula 4 Championship and the 2020 ADAC Formula 4 Championship and he also finished 3rd in the 2021 Euroformula Open Championship (whilst missing 8 races). Crawford is also a race winner in FIA Formula 3 and he joined the Red Bull Junior Team in January 2020. So far in 2023, Jak is 15th in the championship in his first season in Formula 2, but he has managed to impressively achieve 3 podium finishes (all in Sprint races). Given how young Crawford is, this guy has a lot of potential.
Enzo Fittipaldi
Enzo Fittipaldi is a 21-year-old Brazilian-American racing driver who currently drives for Rodin Carlin in FIA Formula 2. Enzo previously won the 2018 Italian F4 Championship, finished 2nd in the 2019 Formula Regional European Championship (behind Frederik Vesti) and 3rd in the 2018 ADAC Formula 4 Championship. Fittipaldi has also achieved a total of 8 podiums in FIA Formula 2 and he only joined the Red Bull Junior Team last November. So far in 2023, Enzo is 7th in Formula 2 with two podiums to his name (both in the Feature Race). Enzo Fittipaldi is definitely a good racing driver.
Isack Hadjar
Isack Hadjar is an 18-year-old French racing driver who currently drives for Hitech Pulse-Eight in FIA Formula 2. Isack previously finished 3rd in both the 2020 French F4 Championship (beaten by Ayumu Iwasa) as well as the 2022 Formula Regional Asian Championship. Hadjar also won 3 races and finished 4th in the championship in his one and only season in FIA Formula 3. Hadjar’s been a part of the Red Bull Junior Programme since the start of the 2022 season. So far in 2023, Isack is 16th in the championship in his first season in Formula 2 with 4 points finishes. I’m intrigued to see how Isack Hadjar’s career progresses.
Dennis Hauger
Dennis Hauger is a 20-year-old Norwegian racing driver who currently drives for MP Motorsport in FIA Formula 2. Dennis previously won both the 2019 Italian F4 Championship (by 136 points) and the 2021 FIA Formula 3 Championship and he also finished 2nd in the 2019 ADAC Formula 4 Championship (behind Theo Pourchaire). Hauger has also achieved 3 race victories and 6 podiums in Formula 2 and he’s been with the Red Bull Junior Team since September 2017. So far in 2023, Dennis is 5th in F2 with one victory to his name (Australia Sprint). If you’ve read previous articles where I’ve talked about Formula 2/the junior Formulas, you’ll know just how much I rate Dennis Hauger.
Ayumu Iwasa
Ayumu Iwasa is a 21-year-old Japanese racing driver who currently drives for DAMS in FIA Formula 2. Ayumu previously won French F4 in 2020 and he’s been a part of the Red Bull Junior Programme since the beginning of 2021. Iwasa also achieved 1 race win in FIA Formula 3 and he’s won 5 races in his time in Formula 2. So far in 2023, Ayumu is 3rd in Formula 2 with 3 race victories and he’s the highest-placed Red Bull Junior in the standings. It’s also worth mentioning that Ayumu Iwasa is backed by Honda.
Zane Maloney
Zane Maloney is a 19-year-old Barbadian racing driver who currently drives for Rodin Carlin in FIA Formula 2. Zane previously won the 2019 F4 British Championship and he also finished second in his one and only season in FIA Formula 3 (just 5 points off first). Due to that amazing season, Maloney joined the Red Bull Junior Team in December 2022. So far in 2023, Zane is 9th in the championship in his first season in Formula 2 and he’s also achieved 2 Podium finishes (both in Feature Races). Zane Maloney is definitely one to watch for the future.
Final Verdict
After going over all 7 drivers, I believe that if a seat opened up at Alpha Tauri today, Liam Lawson deserves the seat. Liam is a quick driver who’s proven his worth in Formula 2, DTM and he’s currently having a strong season in Super Formula. I don’t think Isack Hadjar or Jak Crawford are quite good enough to be in F1 yet (need maybe another year or 2 in F2) whilst Zane Maloney will probably benefit from spending another season in Formula 2 in a bid to win the championship. However, if an Alpha Tauri seat didn’t open up until 2024, I could see one of either Ayumu Iwasa, Dennis Hauger or Enzo Fittipaldi taking the seat. Red Bull clearly like Dennis Hauger as they’ve kept him on for so long whilst the opportunity to maybe have an-all Japanese lineup with Tsunoda and Iwasa might be too big of an opportunity to turn down, particularly given Red Bull’s links with Honda. Whilst I’m less confident in Fittipaldi getting the seat, he could well put himself in Pole position for a promotion to F1 if he ends the 2023 FIA Formula 2 season as the leading Red Bull Junior Driver.
Which Red Bull Junior Driver do you believe deserves a spot on the Formula 1 Grid the most? Let me know in the Poll below (please)!
Which Red Bull Junior Driver deserves a spot on the Formula 1 Grid the most?
0%Liam Lawson
0%Zak Crawford
0%Enzo Fittipaldi
0%Isack Hadjar
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