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The Red Bull Junior Academy has produced a lot of drivers ever since the team made its debut on the F1 grid in 2005. The current F1 grid for the upcoming 2025 season has eight drivers who have been associated with the academy in their junior careers.
Drivers like Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel have gone on to become F1 legends while Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly carved a niche for themselves in the sport by being race winners.
However, the cutthroat manner of the academy could be daunting task for many given the Milton-Keynes outfit has the tendency to promote its drivers and throw them to the deep end.
Below is the list of drivers ranked that took least amount of races before getting promoted to the senior team.
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#1 Liam Lawson- 11 races before getting promoted to Red Bull
Liam Lawson got promoted to the senior team after just 11 race starts to his name in his young F1 career. The Kiwi driver first got a shot after Daniel Ricciardo injured his hand at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix and started for the next five races.
He once again replaced Ricciardo after RB dropped the Aussie at the end of the 2024 Singapore GP. Lawson got the nod ahead of fellow Red Bull academy driver Yuki Tsunoda to race in the senior team for 2025.
#2 Alex Albon- 12 races
Similar to Lawson, Alex Albon started his journey with the Toro Rosso team in the 2019 season, however, he unexpectedly got promoted to the senior team mid-season off his rookie campaign.
The Thai driver had just 12 races under his belt when he got the nod to drive alongside Max Verstappen for the remainder of the year. He kept the seat until the end of the 2020 season, but was dropped in favor of Sergio Perez in 2021.
#3 Daniil Kvyat- 19 races
Daniil Kvyat had a stellar junior career as he won the Formula Renault 3.0 Alps and GP3 Series in 2012 and 2013 season before making his debut with Toro Rosso in 2014.
The Russian driver was selected as the replacement for Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull when the four-time F1 world champion decided to activate his release clause and join Ferrari in 2015. Kvyat only had 19 races to his name when he switched to the Austrian team and outscored Daniel Ricciardo that year.
#4 Max Verstappen- 23 races
The reigning four-time F1 world champion created headways when he joined the sport aged 17 in 2015 to debut for Toro Rosso. However, his promotion to Red Bull just five races into the 2016 season got even more eyeballs as he took the place of Kvyat alongside Ricciardo.
With just 23 races, Max Verstappen became the youngest race winner in F1 history, as he made the opportunity count and won the Spanish GP in his first race with the Austrian team.
#5 Sebastian Vettel- 26 races
Sebastian Vettel was the chosen one for the Austrian team after David Coulthard retired at the end of the 2008 season. The German, who had impressed in his stints with BMW Sauber and Toro Rosso and even won the race with the latter in the 2008 Italian GP.
After getting the promotion after 26 race starts, Vettel did well on the promise and finished second behind Jenson Button in his first year. He later went on tear, dominating the sport from 2010 to 2013, winning the title in each season.
#6 Pierre Gasly- 28 races
Pierre Gasly got a deserved promotion to Red Bull in 2019 after he impressed in his first full season with Toro Rosso in 2018. The French driver replaced Carlos Sainz in the Faenza-based outfit in Singapore 2017 and completed 28 races with the Italian team.
However, Gasly's tenure at the senior team was a brief one as he failed to match the pace of Verstappen in the 11 races before getting demoted back to Toro Rosso.
#7 Daniel Ricciardo- 50 races
Daniel Ricciardo replaced a fellow Aussie at Red Bull in 2014 after Mark Webber hung up his gloves at the end of the 2013 season.
The Honey Badger waited patiently in the wings as he made his debut with HRT in 2011 and completed two full seasons with Toro Rosso in 2012 and 2013 before making the switch to Red Bull in 2014.
