Helmut Marko confirms Red Bull interest in Fernando Alonso prodigy

Red Bull

Marko confirms Red Bull interest in Alonso prodigy

Red Bull have highlighted their latest target for their driver academy with Helmut Marko confirming their admiration for Pepe Marti

Harry Smith

Tuesday 6 June 2023 12:15 Updated: 13:01

Helmut Marko has confirmed Red Bull's admiration for Spanish teenager Pepe Marti, who claimed a dominant victory on home soil in the F3 feature race in Barcelona.

The 17-year-old is part of Fernando Alonso's management team, A14, along with fellow F3 frontrunner Gabriel Bortoleto, F2 prospect Clement Novalak, and Alpine junior driver Nikola Tsolov.

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Marti had already impressed fans of the series with sprint race victories in Sakhir and Monaco, but in Barcelona the Spaniard took his first feature race win of the season, cutting the gap to championship leader Bortoleto.

These performances are putting him on the map and Red Bull are now looking at the teenager for their driver academy, which saw Yuki Tsunoda as its most recent F1 graduate.

Marko: We're watching Marti

When asked about Martin in an interview with Mundo Deportivo, Marko said: "[He] is very good. He has done very well.

“I have been following him for a long time. Not only today. I've been watching him since he jumped into F3. His improvement is significant."

Pepe Marti has been one of the standout F3 drivers in 2023

Should he eventually join the Red Bull driver academy, Marti will have his work cut out to make it to the biggest stage given the talent already on Red Bull's books.

Ayumu Iwasa, Dennis Hauger and Liam Lawson are among the many talents already vying for a place in F1 with AlphaTauri, although given the talent Marti has displayed, F1 certainly isn't an unrealistic dream for this 17-year-old.