Racing Bulls reveal 'very complex' process behind developing future Red Bull stars

Since Red Bull purchased Minardi and relaunched it as Toro Rosso in 2006, the Faenza-based outfit has served one purpose above all others: turning promising young talent into Formula 1 drivers. 

Now operating as Racing Bulls under the stewardship of team principal Alan Permane, that mission has never looked healthier. Through its various guises, the team has handed F1 debuts to 15 drivers, a production line that has yielded a four-time world champion in Max Verstappen, multiple race winners, and a steady stream of graduates into the senior Red Bull squad and beyond.

The latest product of that pipeline is Arvid Lindblad, who at 18 years old became the grid's only rookie in 2026. Nine races in, the Briton has already accumulated 20 points, finished in the top 10 five times, and suffered zero retirements. 

He sits alongside Liam Lawson, another graduate of the system, who has 39 points and 10th in the championship. Together, they have Racing Bulls sixth in the constructors' standings with 59 points. Last year it was Isack Hadjar making his debut at the team before earning a promotion to Red Bull alongside Verstappen for 2026. The conveyor belt simply does not stop.

But what is the secret to getting the best out of these young drivers? In an exclusive interview with RacingNews365, Permane explained that the answer is far from straightforward.

"It's very complex. One of the keys is supporting them. They will make mistakes, they will get things wrong," Permane said. "It's incredibly difficult, F1. It's so complex and these guys go from, let's say, F3, F2 and then F1, but they've made many steps before that, they've done F4 or something like that.

"They're all little steps, and then they come to F1, it's this giant step. So supporting them is key, and when things are tough, which they always will be for them, it's helping them, supporting them, not killing them.

"Accepting that there will be difficulties, accepting they will make mistakes, accepting that they may not get things perfect to start with and just help and support. Hopefully the talented ones learn, and they don't make those mistakes again, they improve and improve and improve each week."

Lower pressure, higher reward

It is a philosophy that has been proven time and again. Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon, and now Hadjar; all cut their teeth in this team before going on to establish themselves as long-term F1 drivers elsewhere. 

What unites them all is that they were given the room to grow without the crushing weight of expectation that comes with driving for a front-running constructor.

Permane, who spent over three decades at the Enstone team through its Benetton, Renault, Lotus, and Alpine eras before joining Racing Bulls in 2024, knows a thing or two about pressure. And he believes the relative absence of it is precisely what makes his team the ideal proving ground.

"I haven't worked in the main Red Bull team, of course, I've worked in another team, but I would say here there's a large amount of support," Permane told RacingNews365. "If they say that's a rookie-friendly team, that's what we can offer them.

"I guess the other thing is there's lower pressure here. There's a lower expectation. If you're driving in one of the top four teams, you're expected to be in Q3. You must score points every week, and I guess when we are in Q3 and when we score points every week, it's fantastic for us.

"We're on a really good run at the moment, but I guess for someone in one of those top teams, if they fall out in Q1, it's a disaster. It's not good for us, but if that happened with us, no one is going to kill the driver. We are going to look at what happened, why it happened, and try to make sure the next time, we or the driver does a better job.

"We're not going to look at it and kill them for what they did wrong. We are going to try and learn from it, and maybe that's the difference."

That difference is one young drivers across the paddock have benefited from for two decades now, and with Lindblad's trajectory already pointing sharply upward, the next chapter in Racing Bulls' story as F1's premier finishing school may only just be beginning.