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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Fionn McLaughlin joins Red Bull Junior Driver Team (INPHO/Red Bull Content Pool/Joerg Mitter)
A County Derry teenager has secured a place on the prestigious Red Bull Junior Driver Team.
Fionn McLaughlin, a 16-year-old from Magherafelt, has secured a coveted spot in the program.
The rising star joins the program that has produced current Formula 1 drivers Carlos Sainz Jr., Pierre Gasly, three-time World Champion Max Verstappen, and retired four-time World Champion Sebatian Vettel.
McLaughlin was the first driver to have been selected on this Driver Search program, with the second, 14-year-old Scott Lindblom from Sweden also being revealed.
The Magherafelt teenager’s outstanding performance on a three day trial in Jerez, Spain, impressed Dr. Helmut Marko, Red Bull Motorsports Consultant and Head of the Junior Driver Program.
McLaughlin was one of 11 budding candidates invited from around the world, aged 13–16, to rigorous testing in open-wheel F4 and GP3 cars.
Red Bull Junior Team announced on Instagram that he is set to race for them in the F4 series as their team driver next season.
Currently, the Red Bull Junior Team has nine racers aged 15–19, and they will compete in the Junior Formula Series.
The team is revered across the sport of Formula 1 due to the training, care, and comprehensive support provided to the drivers in this junior program.
View this post on Instagram
Should McLaughlin compete for a Formula 1 team in the future, he would be the first to do so from Derry and the seventh from Northern Ireland, the first since former Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine retired following the 2002 season.
In the Red Bull Junior Team’s Instagram post announcing the news, McLaughlin spoke about his drive to succeed in the program.
He said: “I’ve been part of racing for 10 years. I loved watching Sebastian Vettel. He was always an inspiration to me.
“I will never give up. I work hard until I am at the top, and if it takes as long as it does, I’ll keep working until I’m there.
“To be a World Champion.”
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