Gwen Lagrue, the highly-regarded head of Mercedes' driver development programme, is leaving the Silver Arrows to join Red Bull in a similar capacity, effectively taking over the role vacated by Helmut Marko.
The 50-year-old Frenchman, who has spent the past decade nurturing talent for Mercedes, will become the head of Red Bull's junior driver programme, as first reported by BBC Sport.
Lagrue has been instrumental in bringing some of Formula 1's brightest talents into the Mercedes fold. George Russell was the first signing following Lagrue's appointment in 2017, joining the Mercedes junior programme before making his F1 debut with Williams in 2019 and stepping up to the works team in 2022.
He also identified Kimi Antonelli when the Italian was just 11 years old and racing in go-karts. Antonelli was fast-tracked into a Mercedes F1 seat in 2025 as Lewis Hamilton's replacement and now leads the world championship by 45 points, having won six of the first 10 races of the 2026 season. Other Mercedes junior programme successes under Lagrue include Esteban Ocon and Frederik Vesti.
At Red Bull, Lagrue will team up with fellow Frenchman Laurent Mekies, the team principal, as the Milton Keynes squad looks to rebuild its driver development structure following recent high-profile departures including Adrian Newey to Aston Martin and Will Courtenay to McLaren.
No start date has been agreed for Lagrue's move. Mercedes and Red Bull are in the process of negotiating an agreement for his release from his existing contract. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said after the Belgian Grand Prix: "We're in discussions with Gwen about the future, but nothing's been agreed or decided yet."
Sources
- BBC Sport: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/articles/cvg7kdnv4p2o
- Crash.net: https://www.crash.net/f1/news/1101513/1/red-bulls-new-helmut-marko-mercedes-driver-scout-switches-f1-rival
