Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda, and Carlos Sainz are just some of the drivers who made it to the pinnacle of motorsport through the system, with each having varied levels of success.

The one thing they all have in common, though, is that they were very successful at a junior level, something which ultimately resulted in each driver being promoted to F1, typically starting life at AlphaTauri (or Toro Rosso, as it was formerly known).

The usual route for a Red Bull junior driver is to join the team during their junior career, resulting in them completing their days in the lower categories with the backing of the Austrians.

READ: Toto Wolff makes surprising claim about Mattia Binotto’s Ferrari exit

As mentioned, if successful then Red Bull usually promote them to AlphaTauri first, before eventually moving them into the main Red Bull outfit should they be good enough.

This is exactly what happened with Verstappen and with Vettel, amongst others, proving that their system of generating talent worthy of racing in F1 is working; however, it appears to have grinded to a halt ever so slightly.

Following Gasly’s move to Alpine, the Red Bull family had an opportunity to promote a junior driver into AlphaTauri, to race alongside Tsunoda.

Interestingly, though, they opted to poach 27-year-old Nyck de Vries from Mercedes, due to not believing that any of their drivers were ready.

It’s the first real time that the Red Bull family have looked beyond the horizon for a driver to join AlphaTauri, especially as it blocks the route to F1 for the likes of Liam Lawson.

Another opportunity to promote a junior driver could come in 2024, with Tsunoda being out-of-contract at the end of 2023.

With that in mind, Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko was asked how the junior team is currently looking, with the Austrian appearing to favour Isack Hadjar, who claimed four wins in 2022 during his rookie F3 campaign.

“First and foremost the Frenchman Isack Hadjar, whom I call the little Prost because he looks like the big one,” Marko told Auto Motor und Sport.

READ: Christian Horner calls Daniel Ricciardo ‘stupid’

“Then we have Zane Maloney, a talent from Barbados, and Enzo Fittipaldi [both new recruits]. They will drive for us in Formula 2 and have to prove themselves there.

“The key is to be consistently at the front there. Our Liam Lawson was not there at times. In the end, he delivered good races again. Then we had Jüri Vips, who once said the wrong word and was finished after that. Which is certainly not right either. As a young lad of 21, you can say something stupid.

“Sebastian Montoya is still driving for us in Formula 3. So we have a broad base. But if, like this year, no top driver presents himself, then we look around on the outside market. And that’s where we got [Nyck] de Vries.

“At the end of the day, we need drivers who have the potential to win a Grand Prix at some point. And we didn’t have that.”

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Herta competed in the MSA Formula Championship in 2015, and he partnered Lando Norris in the Carlin team, eventually finishing third in the championship.

The American’s rise through American single seaters has been meteoric since then, and he has claimed four wins in as many years in the IndyCar series. 

He sits eighth in the Drivers’ Standings currently, 161 points adrift of leader Will Power.

READ: Alpine need to buy-out Pierre Gasly’s Red Bull contract

McLaren gave Herta a test in Portimao earlier this season, but it does not look as though the door to the British team will be open to him any time soon due to the arrival of Oscar Piastri.

Now though, AlphaTauri could be on the verge of losing Pierre Gasly to Alpine following the departure of both Piastri and Fernando Alonso.

Were that move to materialise, Red Bull would need another driver to step into that role, and they have a couple of options in Formula 2.

Liam Lawson, Ayumu Iwasa Jehan Daruvala and Juri Vips have shown some impressive performances so far in the feeder series, and Dennis Hauger has made a good impression after winning the Formula 3 title in 2021.

But none of them are in title contention going into the latter part of the season.

This is something Dr Marko is disappointed with, so he told Auto Motor und Sport that Iwasa “needs a second season,” as do the others.

Isack Hadjar, meanwhile, is second in the Formula 3 Standings at present, five points behind leader Victor Martins.

The Frenchman will be promoted to F2 for the 2023 season, joining Red Bull’s extensive pool of talent on the final rung before the pinnacle of motorsport.

One wonders how F2 championship leader, Felipe Drugovich, is still not affiliated to an F1 team, but Dr Marko still has his sights set on Herta.

As recently as 2017, Pierre Gasly made his way through the Super Formula before making his debut with Toro Rosso that year, and the 26-year-old is proof that the Japanese series is good preparation for F1.

The IndyCar series has always been full of prestige, so Dr Marko is unsure why Herta’s competitiveness in that series has only given 32 of the required 40 points to qualify for a superlicense. 

READ: FIA investigating American racer’s eligibility amid AlphaTauri rumours

“The IndyCars and the Japanese Super Formula drive really fast racing cars, and there is strong internal competition,” added the 79-year-old.

“They are clearly undervalued compared to our junior series.”

Herta might already have been on the grid this season with Andretti, but their attempted buyout of the Sauber Group fell through last year.

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