Ranking every driver to race for Red Bull during their 20 years in F1 including Max Verstappen vs Sebastian Vettel

Follow us on Google Discover

Red Bull Racing are currently competing in their 20^th season in Formula 1 after taking over the Jaguar team at the end of 2004.

Since then, they’ve gone on to win six Constructors’ Championships and seven Drivers’ Championships plus more than 100 pole positions and 120 race victories.

It’s an extraordinary record for a team who spent their formative years competing in the midfield, and Red Bull owe much of their success to the leadership of Christian Horner plus the genius of Adrian Newey and his design team.

A dozen drivers have so far raced for Red Bull during their 388 Grand Prix entries with varying levels of success in Formula 1.

The Austrian-owned team based in Milton Keynes, England have made a habit of trying to promote from within their impressive academy with mixed results.

12. Robert Doornbos (2006)

• 3 Grand Prix
• 0 points
• Best result: 12^th, 2006 Chinese Grand Prix

Dutch driver Robert Doornbos arrived in F1 in 2004 as Jordan’s test driver after being supported by Red Bull during his Formula 3000 stint when he was named Rookie of the Year.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

After taking part in eight races for Minardi in 2005, he took up the role of test driver for Red Bull in 2006, before being called upon to race in the final three Grand Prix of the season.

Doornbos out-qualified teammate David Coulthard on his debut in China and recorded two 12^th-place finishes. But he didn’t do enough to earn a full-time race seat in 2007 and wasn’t seen again in F1.

11. Vitantonio Liuzzi (2005)

• 4 Grand Prix
• 1 point
• Best result, 8^th, 2005 San Marino Grand Prix

Red Bull took the unusual decision to name three drivers as part of their line-up for their debut season in Formula 1.

Unfortunately, that plan only worked out well for two of their three racers, with Vitantonio Liuzzi the name to miss out.

The Italian scored points on his debut in San Marino, but Red Bull decided to run Christian Klien alongside Coulthard instead of Liuzzi after a four-race stint that ended with a ninth-place finish at the European Grand Prix.

Liuzzi went on to have a successful F1 career, spending another five seasons on the grid with Toro Rosso, Force India and HRT.

10. Pierre Gasly (2019)

• 12 Grand Prix
• 63 points
• Best result: 4^th, 2019 British Grand Prix

Pierre Gasly is one of several drivers to start their F1 careers with Toro Rosso after successfully being backed by Red Bull throughout the junior series.

After one full season with Toro Rosso, Gasly was promoted alongside Max Verstappen at the beginning of the 2019 season.

However, he failed to finish on the podium during his dozen races with the team and was demoted to the Toro Rosso outfit for the rest of the season, where he secured a brilliant second-place finish in Brazil.

Gasly then achieved Toro Rosso’s second win in Monza in 2020, before moving on to Alpine in 2023.

9. Daniil Kvyat (2015-2016)

• 21 Grand Prix
• 116 points
• 2 podiums
• Best result: 2^nd, 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix

Daniil Kvyat was another young driver promoted from Red Bull’s junior team and had the incredibly difficult task of trying to replace the outgoing Sebastian Vettel.

A did not start on his debut in Australia – a feat he repeated a year later – set the tone for Kvyat’s time with Red Bull.

Two podium finishes nine months apart were the highlights of Kvyat’s time with the team although he only left AlphaTauri in 2020 after being demoted four races into the 2016 season.

Kvyat later admitted that he believed he could have been an F1 world champion had the timing of his promotion to Red Bull been different.

8. Christian Klien (2005-2006)

• 28 Grand Prix
• 11 points
• Best result: 5^th, Chinese Grand Prix

Although Klien never finished on the podium for Red Bull, he was important in the team’s initial steps into Formula 1.

Klien was racing for Jaguar the season before Red Bull’s takeover and saw off the threat of Liuzzi when they shared the team’s second seat during their maiden campaign.

The Austrian didn’t live up to expectations in 2006 and was replaced by Doornbos for the final three races of the year, but did make a brief return to the grid in 2010 with HRT.

7. Alex Albon (2019-2020)

• 26 Grand Prix
• 181 points
• 2 podiums
• Best result: 3^rd, 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix

After being supported on and off by Red Bull during his junior career, Alex Albon was picked up to race for Toro Rosso in 2019 after a strong Formula 2 campaign the previous year.

His promotion from the junior team was the fastest Horner and Helmut Marko have been forced into, racing just 12 times for Toro Rosso before making his Red Bull debut at the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix.

Albon admitted going to great lengths to try and keep up with Verstappen, and while he suffered some bad luck during his 26 races alongside the Dutchman, his two podiums weren’t enough for him to retain his seat.

The London-born Thai driver then took a year out before being recruited by Williams where he’s demonstrating his talent.

6. David Coulthard (2005-2008)

• 71 Grand Prix
• 60 points
• 2 podiums
• Best result: 3^rd, 2006 Monaco Grand Prix

Coulthard arrived at Red Bull as the team’s established star and had all the experience of challenging for championships with Williams and McLaren.

Although Coulthard wasn’t a fan of Toro Rosso when the team were established, he helped the likes of Klien, Luizzi, Doornbos and Mark Webber develop their talents in F1.

Coulthard’s podium finish at the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix was the team’s first top-three finish, and in his last season in F1, he stood on the rostrum again in Canada.

The Scot is still a Red Bull ambassador and drives the team’s more modern Formula 1 car around the world.

5. Sergio Perez (2021-present)

• 84 Grand Prix
• 924 points
• 5 wins
• 29 podiums
• 3 pole positions

After Red Bull’s tried and tested method of promoting talent from within continued to be a problem after Albon’s difficult stint alongside Verstappen, the team looked outside their ranks for his next teammate.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Sergio Perez’s life outside F1 from net worth to nickname

Sergio Perez looked set to miss out on a seat on the grid in 2021 before Red Bull offered him a lifeline and he played a supporting role in Verstappen winning his first world championship and the team’s most recent Constructors’ Championship victories.

Perez is once again under pressure despite having a contract for 2025, but if he can rediscover the form he showed at the start of last season, his seat will be safe.

4. Daniel Ricciardo (2014-2018)

• 100 Grand Prix
• 956 points
• 7 wins
• 29 podiums
• 3 pole positions

Daniel Ricciardo had the difficult task of replacing fellow countryman Webber at Red Bull in 2014.

Few expected the Australian to outperform the four-time world champion that year and there’s a reason why Fernando Alonso thought Ricciardo was the best driver on the grid in 2016.

Known for his unbelievable overtaking moves and securing several victories against all the odds, Ricciardo could have been an F1 world champion had his time in the team coincided with their domination before and after his spell at Red Bull.

A return to AlphaTauri in 2023 was meant to help Ricciardo achieve his dream of returning to Red Bull, but his time in the sport was brought to an end after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.

3. Mark Webber (2007-2013)

• 129 Grand Prix
• 978.5 points
• 9 wins
• 41 podiums
• 13 pole positions

Coulthard finally met his match at Red Bull when Webber was recruited from Williams in 2007.

His nine victories were impressive but that tally should almost certainly be much higher with Red Bull frequently giving preferential treatment to teammate Vettel as the Austrian outfit dominated F1 during the early 2010s.

Webber was denied by Vettel during the controversial Multi-21 incident in Malaysia and while the Australian may not have been championship material, his importance to Red Bull can’t be underestimated.

2. Sebastian Vettel (2009-2014)

• 113 Grand Prix
• 1577 points
• 38 wins
• 65 podiums
• 44 pole positions
• 4 world championships (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)

Sauber allowing Vettel to leave the team after just one race to join Toro Rosso may be seen as one of the worst decisions a manufacturer has made in recent memory.

Vettel showcased his talent by winning the 2008 Italian Grand Prix for Toro Rosso, achieving that victory before Red Bull had won their first race.

The German took just three races in 2009 to win his first Grand Prix for the team and end their wait for a driver to stand on the top step of the podium.

Vettel then went on an unstoppable run between 2010 and 2013, winning four straight titles and holding off challenges from Alonso and Lewis Hamilton to cement his place among F1’s greatest drivers.

1. Max Verstappen (2016-present)

• 180 Grand Prix
• 2855.5 points
• 61 wins
• 109 podiums
• 40 pole positions
• 3 world championships (2021, 2022, 2023)

Verstappen needed just 23 races at Toro Rosso before being promoted to the senior Red Bull team in 2016 and immediately tasting victory on his debut at the Spanish Grand Prix.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Verstappen has seen off plenty of teammates at Red Bull – although Ricciardo ran him closest – as well as some of the sport’s greatest drivers to achieve three world championships.

His record of 19 race victories in 2023, earning 575 points in the process, is unlikely to ever be matched, and he’s had to use every ounce of his talent in 2024 to try and hold off Lando Norris to match Vettel’s championship-winning record.