Red Bull is set to bring in Gwen Lagrue from Mercedes to lead its junior driver programme. The move follows 25 years of leadership by Helmut Marko at Red Bull. Lagrue has overseen the development of drivers including George Russell and Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes since 2016.
Lagrue is expected to take on a similar role at Red Bull, according to reports from Autosport and Motorsport.com. It remains unclear when the Frenchman will start in his new position, and neither team has commented on the change.
Lagrue began his motorsport career as a kart racer before moving into rallying and driver management. He joined the Lotus junior programme in 2011, where he recruited Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon, and moved to Mercedes in 2016.
His early work at Mercedes included convincing Russell to reject a BMW factory drive in DTM. He also identified Antonelli as an 11-year-old prospect.
Red Bull is reshaping its driver development structure after Marko's long tenure, which produced multiple world champions. The team now has two Formula 1 seats at Racing Bulls available for its juniors.