Red Bull poaches Mercedes F1 driver scout as Helmut Marko’s successor

Red Bull has confirmed the expected signing of former Mercedes Formula 1 driver scout Gwen Lagrue. 

Lagrue, who spent the past decade working for Mercedes, will join Red Bull in 2027 as director of its junior programme, succeeding Helmut Marko who left at the end of 2025. 

It is effectively the same position Lagrue held at Mercedes. 

Red Bull officially announced the capture of Lagrue’s services less than an hour after Mercedes had confirmed his departure from the Silver Arrows. 

"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 and continue growing personally and professionally,” 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. 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 Oracle Red Bull Racing has successfully repeated over the past 20 years.”

Lagrue helped discover current F1 championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who made his Grand Prix debut with Mercedes last season aged 18. 

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies commented: "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 Red Bull 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 Oracle 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."