51-point Red Bull junior driver was nearly ‘broke’ after his first Formula 1 season

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Red Bull’s driver programme has produced two of the greatest drivers in the history of Formula 1. Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel would both feature in most experts’ all-time top 10.

With a 52-point lead over Lando Norris, Verstappen is set to emulate Vettel by winning four straight world championships. Between them, they have amassed 114 race victories, 97 pole positions and 231 podiums.

Even if he’s just lost his seat midway through the season, Daniel Ricciardo is another success story of the programme. During his initial five-season stint at Red Bull from 2014 to 2018, he won seven races and established himself as one of the top drivers on the grid.

Naturally, though, there have been far more failures. Pierre Gasly lasted half a season at Red Bull alongside Verstappen before dropping back down to AlphaTauri until his Alpine move in 2023.

Alex Albon, his replacement, managed to hold out for 18 months, only to lose his spot on the grid altogether. Albon has since his rebuilt his reputation at Williams.

Nyck de Vries generated plenty of excitement when he scored points for the Grove outfit at Monza in 2022, standing in for the unwell Albon. That helped him land an AlphaTauri drive, but he struggled so badly that he was out of the car by July.

Jean-Eric Vergne nearly ran out of money despite Red Bull F1 contract

Another driver who felt hard done by was Jean-Eric Vergne. Vergne arrived in F1 in 2012, partnering Ricciardo at Toro Rosso.

They found themselves in an effective shoot-out for Mark Webber’s seat, with the Australian in the final stages of his career. When he retired at the end of 2013, it was Ricciardo who prevailed.

Vettel left the team a year later but Vergne was once again overlooked, this time in favour of Daniil Kvyat. Red Bull lost faith in the Frenchman and dropped him for 2015 as they introduced an all-new Toro Rosso line-up of Verstappen and Carlos Sainz.

According to The Race’s Samarth Kanal, Vergne ‘gave plenty to Formula 1’, to the extent that he was ‘almost broke’ after the 2012 season. Kanal feels that he deserved a seat elsewhere, but a suitable offer never arrived.

What former Red Bull talent Jean-Eric Vergne has said about his financial woes

Very few would expect a Formula 1 driver, or indeed any elite-level athlete in a prominent sport, to encounter financial difficulties. But Vergne feels that external perceptions aren’t entirely accurate.

Speaking to L’Equipe in 2015 (via F1i), he admitted that he’d become overexcited and ‘quickly spent everything’. This became particularly problematic when he lost his seat.

“When I left Formula 1, I ran out of money,” he said. “I was stupid and didn’t make a lot of money at Red Bull.

“People think that Formula 1 is full of money, and I also considered myself a millionaire, so I quickly spent everything. It took me two years to recover.”

Vergne scored 51 points in his F1 career, with a highest finish of sixth (Canada 2013 and Singapore 2014). He went on to win the Formula E title in back-to-back seasons (2017/18 and 2018/19).