He was once the youngest F1 driver of all time but suffered ‘trauma’ after working with Helmut Marko

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Red Bull have trained their fair share of Formula 1 talent, but not every single one goes on to be a race-winner.

17 of their 102 junior drivers have progressed to Formula 1, all while being assessed and pushed to their limits by long-serving advisor Helmut Marko.

He has quite a unique role at Red Bull, but at the age of 82, his time with the team could be coming to an end soon. Contracted until 2026, he could retire and pave the way for someone younger to take his spot.

One of the most impressive statistics of their junior academy is that more than half of their graduates have gone on to race for Red Bull (10) after being at Racing Bulls (7). It’s a system that has worked.

Marko criticised rival boss Toto Wolff for what he believed to be ‘foolish’ involvement in trying to tempt Max Verstappen to sign for Mercedes ahead of the 2026 F1 regulations.

But, he doesn’t always get things right, with his Gabriel Bortoleto pre-season verdict looking worse by the day. The Brazilian has transformed into a star for Sauber.

READ MORE: What Red Bull have told Max Verstappen to convince him to reject Mercedes, Helmut Marko’s role explained

Jaime Alguersuari was the youngest Formula 1 driver ever but suffered ‘trauma’ after working with Helmut Marko

Back in 2009, Red Bull’s academy had just six graduates, with three having progressed to the senior team at some point.

One of the most exciting, up-and-coming stars at the time was Toro Rosso (Racing Bulls) driver Jaime Alguersuari.

When he made his debut at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, he became the youngest driver in the history of the sport at 19 years old. That record would stand until Max Verstappen broke it a few years later.

Alguersuari has ‘100%’ ruled out one Verstappen option for 2026, but back when he was a driver, there was just as much pressure to perform as there is now with Red Bull.

After flying through the junior series, his debut season at the top saw him retire five times in eight races, with a best finish of 14th.

2010 would see him score just five points with a best finish of ninth, before he picked up the pace yet again in 2011 and scored 26 points, achieving seventh place on two separate occasions.

Speaking about his time at Red Bull just a few years ago, Alguersuari detailed some ‘trauma’ he had while being a part of their junior setup.

“I’m going to tell you something. I still dream, when I sleep, I have very strange dreams, very strange dreams from all that time,” he told El Confidencial. “Above all, the helplessness and frustration of never meeting expectations, of seeing Mr. Marko always angry, telling me off.

“As if we were children. I see myself like that. This has created a trauma, and I’m convinced that [teammate Sebastien] Buemi, and many others, are going through it too.”

What happened to Jaime Alguersuari after the 2011 Formula 1 season?

Instead of finding another Formula 1 drive for 2012, Alguersuari took up a test driver role with Pirelli, playing an important role in the production of their tyres for the sport.

By 2013, he admitted that a return to the sport was not a part of his plans, and he stepped away from his test driver role at the end of the year.

He was one of the first drivers to compete in Formula E, doing so in their maiden season in 2014-15, finishing 13th in the championship.

With one more race in Stock Car Brasil the following season, he stopped racing altogether to pursue a true passion of his – being a DJ.

A few years ago in 2022, he got behind the wheel of a go-kart again and had some fun. Sadly, he’s one of Red Bull’s prospects that got away a little bit.