Quality comes before quantity.
The 2009 Red Bull Junior Team with nine drivers from eight nations.
Picture, from left: Juncadella, Aleshin, Alguersuari, Mäki und Wickens

 


2009 with 9.
The 2009 Red Bull Junior Team is complete.
A total of nine drivers will take part in the world’s most successful talent programme in motorsports this year.

It is the smallest squad since the Junior Team was established in 2000, because:
quality comes before quantity. Only those drivers who have the necessary talent for a sustained Formula 1 career will be supported.

The 2009 Red Bull Junior Team:

Red Bull Junior Team 2009:

Mikhail ALESHIN, RUS  /    Formula 2
Jaime ALGUERSUARI, ESP-Team Carlin   /  World Series by Renault
Mirko BORTOLOTTI, ITA  /  Formula 2
Brendon HARTLEY, NZL-Team Carlin   /   Formula 3 Euro Serie
Daniel JUNCADELLA, ESP-Euro Intern.  /  BMW European Series
Mika MÄKI, FIN-Team Signature   /  Formula 3 Euro Serie
Daniel RICCIARDO, AUS-Team Carlin   /   Formula 3 UK
Jean Eric VERGNE, FRA-SG Formula  /  Formula Renault 2.0 (EC/WEC)
Robert WICKENS, CAN   /   Formula 2

Nine Juniors from eight nations will be competing for points in six different racing series this coming season – and all of them have already proven that they are able to win titles and/or races.

No less than four Juniors are starting the new season as reigning champions:
 Alguersuari – Formula 3 UK
 Bortolotti – Formula 3 Italia
 Ricciardo – Formula Renault 2.0
 Vergne – French Formula Renault 2.0 & WEC/EC Rookie of the Year

Mirko Bortolotti is this year’s only new addition.
Jean-Karl Vernay and Karun Chandhok on the other hand have left the team following the 2008 season.

The youngest Junior is 17 years old: Daniel Juncadella
The oldest Junior is 21 years of age: Mikhail Aleshin

No less than three Juniors will enter a new racing series: Formula 2.
Aleshin, Bortolotti and Wickens.

Former Formula 1 driver Jonathan Palmer has won the tender to re-establish this series which will support the WTCC and, above all, wants to succeed with its low-cost approach.

Several drivers have made the leap from the Red Bull Junior Team to the pinnacle of motorsports in the last four years – Klien, Speed, Liuzzi, Vettel as well as, just recently, Sébastien Buemi.