Axed Red Bull junior admits he’d felt like a ‘let-down’ due to Helmut Marko’s brutal ‘expectations’

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Red Bull has a seemingly endless supply of young talent on their books within the Red Bull Junior Team, creating a highly competitive environment for youngsters who are all eyeing the same four seats in F1.

Headed by Helmut Marko, the academy has been one of the most successful of the teams on the grid in recent times, with two four-time world champions in Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen both hailing from the school.

The team currently houses 13 junior drivers across six different racing categories, from the Ginetta Junior championship all the way up to Formula 2.

Current F2 driver, Arvid Lindblad, ‘truly believes’ he will be the next Red Bull junior to enter F1 after impressing the team during FP1 of the British Grand Prix weekend.

Red Bull personnel also praised Lindblad’s ‘perfect attitude’ during private tests with the team at Imola in February. With the ever-changing musical chairs that we often see with the four F1 seats associated with Red Bull, the opportunity certainly seems there for the 17-year-old.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad including his parents

Jak Crawford recalls Helmut Marko’s expectations which left him feeling like a ‘let-down’

Jak Crawford became a Red Bull junior at the start of 2020, fresh off the back of an impressive performance in the NACAM F4 championship. He made his way up the single-seater ladder, coming close but never quite managing to win a championship en route.

Speaking to Nate Saunders on the Unlapped podcast, Crawford recalled his time with the Red Bull junior team, “There was definitely a bit of pressure added to it. It was very results-driven. There was almost an expectation before the start of the season, and if you didn’t meet those expectations, then it was a bit of a letdown. 

“I specifically remember joining in my first year, and I was teammates with Johnny Edgar, who was also a Red Bull junior driver at the time, back in F4. We had back-to-back meetings with Helmut, and he told us both to win the F4 championship.

“So obviously someone wasn’t going to live up to it. That’s just how it was. Every year, going into my F3 year straight from F4, it was win the championship, and then next year after that was win the championship. It was always just this high expectation to be held.”

READ MORE: Who is Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko? Everything to know

Jak Crawford could be in line for a F1 seat with Cadillac in 2026

Following his departure from the Red Bull academy at the end of 2023 after four years with the team, Crawford was signed as a junior driver for the Aston Martin young driver programme, where he is currently continuing his development as a Formula 2 driver.

He has since tested F1 machinery with the Silverstone-based team during private tests in Austria, Abu Dhabi and the Netherlands. In his full-time drive for 2025, the American driver currently finds himself at second place in the F2 championship with 6 rounds to go.

The 20-year-old also took part in a test for the Andretti Formula E team in 2024 and currently sits on the books of the team as a reserve driver, an avenue which could land him a seat in F1 sooner rather than later.

The Andretti ties to the new Cadillac F1 team give Crawford an immediate opportunity to be considered as a candidate for the team. Despite being reported as an ‘outsider’ for a full-time seat, Crawford could benefit from Cadillac’s desire to have an American at the wheel of one of their cars.