Red Bull Racing have had a huge impact on Formula 1.
The Austrian outfit is still relatively young, having only acquired its own team outright in 2005.
Since then, however, Red Bull have been a permanent fixture on the Formula 1 grid, invariably competing towards the front of races in most seasons.
This is in large part thanks to the calibre of drivers they have employed and developed through their Young Driver Programme, of whom five of the best will be analysed now.
Max Verstappen – 2016 to present
There’s no better place to start than the current World Champion.
Max Verstappen was always bookmarked as a prodigious talent after Red Bull fast-tracked him into F1, the Dutchman making his debut for the team’s sister side, Toro Rosso, as a 17-year-old in 2014.
After they ruthlessly replaced Daniil Kvyat with Verstappen ahead of the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, the first F1 race that Verstappen won, the team have never looked back.
In truth, they haven’t needed to, with the 27-year-old going on to break all sorts of records on his way to claiming four consecutive Drivers’ Titles.
Currently, Verstappen holds records including:
- Most wins in a season (19 in 2023)
- Most podium finishes in a season (21 in 2023)
- Most consecutive wins (10 in 2023)
- Most points in a season (575 in 2023)
- Youngest ever race winner (18 years old in 2016)
- Youngest ever Formula 1 driver (17 years old in 2015)
His ability speaks louder than just pure numbers, though, with his aggression, wheel-to-wheel race craft and masterful performances in the wet allowing him to outperform his car even when it hasn’t been the best on the grid.
While his uncompromising style often gets him into trouble as well, it ultimately makes Verstappen one of Formula 1’s best ever drivers, let alone one of the best to race for Red Bull.
Sebastian Vettel – 2009 to 2014
Before Verstappen came along, Sebastian Vettel was the only driver to have won a World Title with Red Bull.
And despite all the records the Dutchman has claimed, Vettel is still the youngest person to win the World Championship, doing so in 2010 at just 23 years of age.
That victory came down to a nail-biting finish in the final Grand Prix, Vettel winning the race and finishing far enough ahead of two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso to claim the Championship by just four points.
A dominant season in 2011 followed, in which the German won 11 of the 19 races to win the World Championship by 122 points.
2012 would then be a lot closer, Fernando Alonso again pushing Vettel all the way to the final race, only to see the Red Bull driver beat him by the narrowest of margins for a second time, this time by three points.
Vettel’s streak of four consecutive race wins in Singapore, Japan, South Korea and India ultimately flipped that season’s championship on its head, before he recovered from a first-lap incident in the final race in Brazil to win his third consecutive title.
That would become a fourth in 2013, Vettel dominating with a then-record of nine consecutive race wins at the back-end of that season to win the Championship by 155 points.
Sadly, the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2013 would be the German’s last win with Red Bull, with the change in regulations in 2014 starting a period of Mercedes dominance.
Mark Webber – 2007 to 2013
Nine race wins in the class make Mark Webber Australia’s most successful Formula 1 driver (at least for the time being).
The Australian was always consistent after making the move to Red Bull in 2007, becoming quicker and quicker as the car improved across each season.
He would win his first F1 races at the German and Brazilian Grands Prix in 2009, before another four race wins in 2010 put him in title contention heading into the final race in Abu Dhabi.
Unfortunately, an eighth-place finish in the season climax meant the Australian finished third, missing out on the Championship to teammate Vettel by 14 points.
His last three seasons in Formula 1 would see him play second-fiddle to his faster teammate.
Webber nonetheless secured another three victories and 21 podiums, including a brilliant win at the 2012 British Grand Prix when his team decided to swap Webber’s and Vettel’s chassis, giving the Australian a cracked one.
That led to the 48-year-old’s famous team radio message after the race, in which he sarcastically quipped, “Not bad for a number two driver.”
Blunt, feisty and quick, Webber is deserving of his place on this list.
Now an advisor to fellow countryman Oscar Piastri, his experience could also help the McLaren driver become Australia’s first-ever F1 World Champion this season.
Daniel Ricciardo – 2014 to 2018
Eight race wins make Daniel Ricciardo Australia’s second most successful Formula 1 driver.
Another to have been part of the sister Toro Rosso team and promoted via Red Bull’s Young Driver Programme, Ricciardo made the step up to Red Bull in 2014, replacing Webber.
He would win three races in his debut season with the Austrian team, being the only non-Mercedes driver to stand on the top step of the podium in 2014.
In doing so, he also finished third in that season’s World Championship, beating teammate and reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel by 71 points.
Breathtaking wins in Malaysia in 2016, Azerbaijan in 2017, and China and Monaco in 2018 followed.
That victory in Monaco, Ricciardo’s last for Red Bull, was also a wonderful story of redemption, the Australian making up for a botched pit-stop while leading the race in 2016 to claim victory despite an engine problem affecting him for most of the Grand Prix.
The master of late-breaking during his time with the Austrian outfit, Ricciardo became known for brilliant overtakes and divebombs, or as he put it himself, for “licking the stamp and sending it.”
Unfortunately, much like Webber with Vettel, the arrival of Verstappen saw the younger driver being prioritised, being viewed by Red Bull as the better talent.
It ultimately led the Australian to leave the team at the end of the 2018 season, with his eighth and final Formula 1 victory coming three years later for McLaren at Monza.
David Coulthard – 2005 to 2008
David Coulthard is the only driver on this list not to have won a race for Red Bull.
That being said, the Scotsman merits a place because of his consistency across his four seasons with the team, helping them push towards the front of the grid.
After Red Bull purchased Jaguar Racing ahead of the 2005 season, Coulthard made the decision to join the new outfit.
A strong start saw him score points in four of the first five races, before the second half of the season saw other cars surpass the team amid reliability issues.
Such issues continued to plague Coulthard in 2006. However, he would take Red Bull’s first podium that season, finishing third at the Monaco Grand Prix.
A second podium would be achieved in 2008, Coulthard’s final season in F1, at the Canadian Grand Prix.
After retiring at the end of that campaign, the 54-year-old moved into a testing and development consultant role with the team.
His influence in Red Bull’s success in the early 2010s should therefore not be understated, with Coulthard the team’s one consistent driver for their first two seasons in F1 until the arrival of Mark Webber.