‘I Don’t Like to Party’: Is Red Bull’s Rising Junior the Next Max Verstappen?

Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and last but definitely not least Max Verstappen have one thing in common. Their connection to Red Bull. All these drivers were once a part of the famed Red Bull Academy, which has produced some excellent talents over the years. In this piece, we will look at another rising talent in the Red Bull’s program that might go on to become the next Verstappen.

Red Bull has recently failed to employ any of their academy graduates on the team, but the sister team AlphaTauri still houses two academy graduates and gave another, Liam Lawson, a taste of the premier class. However, today we will look a little into the future to talk about a Spaniard who might keep the academy’s reputation alive in the long run.

Who is the Spanish Red Bull Academy driver who might be the next Max Verstappen?

The man in question is Josep María “Pepe” Martí. Still just 18 but already making waves in the world of motorsport. Marti won the Spanish Karting Championship in 2019 before embarking on his single-seater journey. After a win in the Formula Four UAE Championship, he turned his attention to the F4 Spanish Championship and added more race wins under his belt. In 2022, the Spaniard narrowly missed out on the F3 title and remained with Campos Racing in 2023 and secured numerous wins in both sprint and feature race formats. He will now ply his trade in F2 from 2024 onwards for the same team.

Why do we think the young Spaniard will be the next world champion in F1? Well, his answer in a recent exclusive with El Confidencial gave us some insight into his psyche and his dedication, which can only be found in future world champions.

When asked about the pressure of racing and the level of maturity required to learn, he concluded his answer by saying, “Then, to go fast, many things influence, there are many people behind. And this is the same since childhood, when you have to give the correct information to go fast, and your level of dedication must be very high. It requires you to mature very quickly. I remember going back to class when I was fifteen, people wanted to party, and I just wanted the weekend to arrive and get back on the track.“

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Tell us that doesn’t remind you of a certain someone. This is the level of dedication required to become an F1 champion. Hopefully, Pepe Marti will regain the respect the Red Bull Academy has lost in recent years, which was highlighted by a former academy driver.

Former Red Bull Academy driver gives a concerning verdict on the state of the academy

Ever since Red Bull became a part of the circus, they have taken various steps to grow as an organization. Their two-year Red Bull Engineering Academy scheme is a great example of the same. However, according to Jaime Alguersuari, a former Red Bull Academy driver, it’s not all hunky dory back at Milton Keynes and Sergio Perez is helping him prove his point.

Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Alguersuari said, “For me, right now, and I’m going to be very clear with you. The fact that Checo Perez is driving for the Red Bull Racing team is quite clear that the Red Bull junior team is not any more successful.”

He added, “Because the whole idea, and that’s what they told us and that’s what they told to the media and everyone was that we are building up champions. We are building up the best drivers we can and give them an opportunity to drive for Toro Rosso, nowadays AlphaTauri in order that they get experience in Formula 1 so we can upgrade them to the bigger team, which is Red Bull.”

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With no signs of any Red Bull Academy driver showcasing championship-winning mettle maybe there’s some truth in the Alguersuari comments. However, perhaps Papi Martí might change that outlook in the future.