Red Bull’s new Helmut Marko? Mercedes driver scout switches to F1 rival
Has Red Bull just found its next Helmut Marko?
Red Bull has poached the Mercedes driver scout who helped discover Formula 1 championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Gwen Lagrue, who is the head of the Mercedes driver development programme, is to join rival Red Bull in a similar role, as first reported by BBC Sport.
The 50-year-old Frenchman will essentially take over the position previously held by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, who left the team at the end of last season.
Lagrue will become the head of Red Bull’s junior driver programme, though no start date has been agreed as of yet.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was tight-lipped about Lagrue’s future when asked after Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix.
"We're in discussions with Gwen about the future, but nothing's been agreed or decided yet,” Wolff told reports at Spa-Francorchamps.
"Gwen has built up a fantastic team, we're about seven, eight or nine people that are running the junior programme going forward, with a handful of juniors.
“With Bradley [Lord] stepping up as a deputy principal, these things need to be carved out now. We want to do it together with Gwen.”
Lagrue has worked with Mercedes for the past decade and was key in unearthing several talents.
George Russell was the first signing made by Mercedes after Lagrue was appointed.
The 28-year-old Briton became a member of the Mercedes junior programme in early 2017 and was supported by the Silver Arrows on his rapid rise to F1.
Russell made his F1 debut with Williams in 2019, before being promoted to Mercedes in 2022.
Antonelli was signed by Mercedes when he was 11 years old and still racing in go-karts.
He has been nurtured by the Mercedes development programme before being fast-tracked into an F1 drive with the works’ team in 2025 as a replacement for Lewis Hamilton when the seven-time world champion completed a blockbuster switch to Ferrari.
Antonelli currently leads Hamilton by 45 points in the world championship, having won six of the 10 races so far this season.
Lagrue will take on a hugely important job at Red Bull, whose recent young drivers have not had the success of the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, whose future remains uncertain.
He will team-up with fellow countryman Laurent Mekies, who is the Red Bull team principal.
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