Red Bull hire Gwen Lagrue from Mercedes to lead Junior Programme in 2027

Red Bull has confirmed the appointment of Gwen Lagrue as Director of the Red Bull Junior Programme for the 2027 season, poaching the respected Mercedes talent scout after more than a decade at the German marque.

Lagrue, who spent eleven years with Mercedes where he helped discover Kimi Antonelli, essentially takes over the role vacated by Helmut Marko at the end of 2025. He will work closely with Team Principal Laurent Mekies and the Milton Keynes squad to identify and develop the next generation of F1 race winners.

"Joining Oracle Red Bull Racing marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for me. After eleven memorable years at Mercedes, I felt this was the right moment to take on a new challenge," Lagrue said. "The Red Bull Junior Programme is one of the most respected and successful driver development programmes in motorsport. It has produced some of the greatest talents F1 has ever seen, and it is a real honour to have the opportunity to lead such a talented group of people and help shape its next chapter."

Mekies added: "Gwen is one of the very best talent developers in F1 and I know first-hand the expertise, leadership and passion he brings to developing young drivers. The Junior Programme has become the benchmark in F1 because of Helmut's vision, commitment and ability to identify exceptional talents, and he deserves enormous credit for that."

The programme's legacy includes producing Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon. More recently, Arvid Lindblad was promoted to Racing Bulls this season, while F2 championship leader Nikola Tsolov is expected to move into the top tier of single-seater racing in the near future.

Sources

• [Crash.net](https://www.crash.net/f1/news/1101957/1/red-bull-poaches-mercedes-f1-driver-scout-helmut-markos-successor)
• [Formula1.com](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/red-bull-hire-lagrue-from-mercedes-to-lead-junior-programme-in-2027.9mjg0yxwPcF08SpVMNBvl)