A Mercedes driver scout has been involved in spotting Kimi Antonelli to join Red Bull

Mercedes scout co-discoverer Kimi Antonelli is leaving the team to join rivals Red Bull.

Frenchman Gwen Lagro, 50, will take on a new role leading Red Bull’s driver development programme.

Lagro was mainly appointed as a replacement for Helmut Marko, who retired from his long-time role as Red Bull’s motorsport consultant at the end of last year.

Red Bull, Mercedes and Lagro team principal Laurent Mekes and Lagro himself declined to comment when contacted by BBC Sport.

It is unclear when Lagro will be free to assume his new role.

Mercedes and Red Bull are working to negotiate an agreement that would see him released from his current contract as a driver development advisor to the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

At Mercedes, his role is likely to be filled by a slight tweak to the current young driver programme, which is arguably the most effective in Formula One.

Bradley Lord, who was already involved, was recently promoted to deputy team principal from his previous position as communications director and senior advisor to team principal Toto Wolff.

Mercedes has a team of up to 10 people who analyze the junior categories, all the way up to the very entry levels in karting, to find promising new talent.

Lagro worked for Mercedes for ten years.

George Russell was the team’s first signing after his appointment, just months after the Briton approached Wolff and gave him a PowerPoint presentation arguing his case as part of Mercedes’ junior programme.

Russell has since received support from Mercedes as he completed the junior categories, was loaned out to Williams to make his Formula 1 debut in 2019 and was then promoted to Mercedes in 2022.

Antonelli was signed by Mercedes when he was an 11-year-old racing karts, and he has been mentored by Mercedes through a sprint program that will see him replace Lewis Hamilton in the team when the seven-time champion joins Ferrari at the start of 2025.

Antonelli proves generational talent by dominating the Formula 1 World Championship in only his second season.

The 19-year-old has won five races and taken six pole positions in 10 races so far this season before Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix and leads Russell by 25 points.

Among the other successes Mercedes achieved while Lagro ran the young driver program were Frenchman Esteban Ocon, who was their rookie driver and was managed by them during his ten-year Formula 1 career at Manor, Force India, Renault/Alpine and now Haas, and their current reserve driver in Formula 1, Dane Frederik Vestey.

Lagro also personally supported current Williams driver Alex Albon when he was dropped by Marko from Red Bull’s driver development program in 2016.

He helped Albon with career advice and in identifying budget sources to continue his career until the Thai Englishman returned to Red Bull for his F1 debut with the second team, then called Toro Rosso, in 2019.