Christian Horner feels that the cut-throat nature of Red Bull's junior driver programme will not scare drivers away from joining it in Formula 1. In the last five years the team has let go of or demoted several drivers including Daniil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and most recently Nyck de Vries. Red Bull Motorsport Advisor Helmut Marko is known for being tough on drivers, but Horner feels this approach will not affect their ability to attract star talent for the future. "Red Bull has bought more drivers to F1 than any other team and we've produced several world champions now," he told Formula.Hu. "Of course, the programme is highly demanding, but then so is F1."
Horner: I'd rather AlphaTauri ran a driver of interest to Red Bull Racing
The Red Bull Team Principal is known for disagreeing with Marko on the appointment of De Vries at AlphaTuari. Outgoing Team Principal, Franz Tost, believed that the Dutchman was not prepared well enough for the switch despite impressing on his debut with Williams at Monza last year. Despite this, Horner feels De Vries dismissal is part of the pressure that comes with racing in F1 as a rookie. "The problem is, if you wait one or two races what's the difference?" he explained. "From a selfish position, Nyck wasn't going to be a contender for Red Bull Racing in 2025. I'd rather AlphaTauri run a driver that could be of interest to us longer term."
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