Robin Raikkonen joins Red Bull Junior Team as Coulthard draws Verstappen parallel

Robin Raikkonen, the 11-year-old son of Kimi Raikkonen, has signed with the Red BullRed Bull RacingAustria4th POS230 PTS Junior Team, an agreement the team announced earlier this month that is due to begin in 2027. David Coulthard, a former Formula 1Formula 1 World ChampionshipInternational driver, has likened the arrangement to the way Jos Verstappen handled Max VerstappenMax VerstappenRed Bull · Netherlands · Driver6th POS145 PTS's early career.

2026

---

POS

6th

PTS

145

WINS

0

PODIUMS

6

Season 2026

What Red Bull has confirmed

Red Bull confirmed earlier this month that Robin Raikkonen has joined its driver development programme, with work alongside the team starting in 2027. No competition programme, contract length or financial terms have been disclosed, and the team has not set out how his development will be structured once the agreement begins.

The Verstappen comparison

Ank kumar · CC BY-SA 4.0

Coulthard's view, as reported, is that Kimi Raikkonen is following the approach Jos Verstappen took with Max: a father taking a close, hands-on role in a son's progress through the junior ranks. The parallel points back to the years before Max Verstappen reached Formula 1, and to how early a young driver's direction can be set once a team commits to him.

Coulthard's remarks are an assessment of how a family is managing the early years rather than a forecast of results. Comparisons drawn at this stage invite caution: an 11-year-old is still some distance from the categories in which a junior driver is measured, and no racing date has been attached to the agreement.

Why the signing matters

Ank kumar · CC BY-SA 4.0

Bringing a driver in at 11 allows Red Bull to shape his development over several seasons, and gives Robin Raikkonen access to the team's coaching and engineering support from 2027. Because the arrangement is due to start in the future, there is room for the plan to be adjusted as he grows and as his results in junior competition come in.

Attention will fall as much on Robin's father as on the driver himself. The comparison Coulthard makes is about parental guidance as much as about talent, and it places the family's decisions in the same frame as the Verstappens'.

What is not yet known

Several elements of the deal remain unpublished. Red Bull has not said which series Robin Raikkonen will race in, whether any testing is planned before 2027, or how long the agreement runs. The team has also not commented on Coulthard's comparison, and Kimi Raikkonen has not spoken publicly about the plan.

The next visible step would be confirmation of a racing programme for 2027 and beyond. Until that arrives, the firm details are the signing, the driver's age and the start date.