Former Mercedes talent scout, Gwen Lagrue appointed director of the Red Bull Junior Programme.

Reporting directly to Laurent Mekies, he will join the leadership team in 2027 as Red Bull continues to strengthen its organisation for the future.

Widely regarded as one of Formula One's leading talent developers, Lagrue will be responsible for leading the Red Bull Junior Programme, overseeing the identification, development and progression of the next generation of F1 talent. His appointment reflects Red Bull's commitment to investing in one of the team's greatest long-term strengths: developing future F1 drivers and World Champions.

Together Mekies and Lagrue bring an established relationship and a shared vision that will help shape the next chapter of the Junior Programme while supporting the team's wider ambitions.

"Gwen is one of the very best talent developers in F1," said Mekies, "and I know first-hand the expertise, leadership and passion he brings to developing young drivers.

"The Junior Programme has always been a cornerstone of Red Bull's success, and having Gwen lead it soon reflects the importance we continue to place on developing the next generation of F1 talent.

"We want to recognise another time today the extraordinary contribution Helmut Marko has made over more than two decades creating and leading the Junior Programme. The Junior Programme has become the benchmark in F1 because of his vision, commitment and ability to identify and develop exceptional talents and he deserves enormous credit for that.

"As we continue to build the next chapter of Red Bull Racing, attracting leaders of Gwen's calibre is fundamental to achieving our ambitions. We're strengthening our high-performance organisation with outstanding people in every part of the business, and Gwen is an important addition of that journey. Together, we will build on an incredibly strong foundation while continuing to evolve the programme for the future."

"Joining Red Bull Racing marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for me," said Lagrue. "After eleven memorable years at Mercedes, I felt this was the right moment to take on a new challenge and continue growing personally and professionally.

"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. I'm looking forward to working closely with Laurent as well as the entire team and I am very thankful for this opportunity.

"Together, we have a fantastic framework to build on the programme's remarkable legacy, continue to evolve it for the future, and identify, develop and prepare the next generation of F1 race winners and World Champions, following a pattern Red Bull Racing has successfully repeated over the past 20 years."