Franco Colapinto is unlikely to be at the wheel of a Red Bull-owned F1 car in 2025, Dr Helmut Marko has revealed.
At the Mexican GP, Sky Italia reporter Roberto Chinchero reported that Red Bull has made an offer to the Argentine rookie, who has impressed since replacing Logan Sargeant at Williams.
“It’s an unusual situation,” Red Bull’s F1 advisor Marko told Kleine Zeitung newspaper. “He didn’t stand out in any junior category. Of course he was good, but not exceptional.
“But he struck us with his ice-cold determination, even though he was thrown in at the deep end like Liam Lawson.”
Marko, 81, doesn’t hide that he made an approach to the 21-year-old’s management.
“In Formula 1, everyone talks to everyone,” said the Austrian.
However, he admits that Red Bull and Colapinto are unlikely to be able to do a deal for 2025. “The problem with him is that he has a long-term contract with Williams,” said Marko.
He acknowledged that James Vowles has offered to loan Colapinto to a rival team, “but that is not interesting for any team,” Marko insisted.
“We are also in a good position with our own junior drivers. We are not going to train anyone for another team.”
RB’s incumbent driver is Yuki Tsunoda, who has also been signed up for 2025. Since Austin, he has been paired with Daniel Ricciardo’s successor Liam Lawson, who is hotly tipped to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing next year.
New Zealander Lawson, however, said when asked about 2025: “To be honest, I haven’t the faintest idea.”
Given his ties to Honda, who are departing to Aston Martin for 2026, Tsunoda is not regarded as a serious candidate for Red Bull Racing next year.
After pressure from Honda executives, however, Red Bull has at least offered 24-year-old Japanese Tsunoda a test in the title-charging 2024 car for the post-Abu Dhabi test.
Tsunoda says it was a battle even to get that.
“I have become accustomed to how difficult it is to get even a one-day test for someone who has been better than most of his teammates in previous years,” he said.
“There are probably some things going on behind the scenes that I’m not aware of.”
