Franco Colapinto is searching for a full-time seat in Formula 1, with his options limited for the 2025 season.
The Argentine replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams from the Italian Grand Prix onwards and made a huge impression in his opening races, scoring points in Baku and Austin with eighth and 10th respectively.
These results may not sound so impressive on paper, but Colapinto has managed four more points than Sargeant scored in 36 races for Williams.
The Argentine will not race for the Grove-based team in 2025 as they will have Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz in their cars. But his performances have caught the attention of other teams in the paddock.
Colapinto was in talks with Red Bull over being a possible replacement for Sergio Perez, or moving to their junior team RB to replace one of their drivers if they are chosen to move to the main team.
Alpine have also expressed interest in signing Colapinto, despite having both of their drivers locked in for 2025 in Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan.
There were ‘very serious concerns’ that Franco Colapinto could replace Jack Doohan before next season
Doohan is set to make his F1 debut at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after Esteban Ocon’s sudden exit from the team following the last race in Qatar.
Ocon’s departure allows him to test with his new team Haas at the post-season test in Abu Dhabi, while Doohan gets the chance to showcase his ability to Alpine before his full-time assault at F1 next year.
There has been some speculation that Doohan may not be at Alpine as long as some previously thought, with it being suggested that Doohan’s contract is only for five races.
Speaking on the Pit Talk Podcast, Matt Coch revealed that Colapinto had caused ‘very serious concerns’ about possibly replacing the Aussie before his F1 debut.
“Jack is a great kid, yes he’s got the name but he’s done it himself. He’s done it the hard way. He’s had to work for everything,” he said.
“He took a hell of a risk at the start of this year choosing not to race anything, choosing instead to support the team and he’s lucky in that the team has realised that it’s got a junior programme there and the idea of a junior programme is to eventually pick a driver out of it.
“There were concerns, and very serious concerns I might add, that Franco Colapinto would replace him before he’d even had a race. That threat has dwindled to theoint of it’s been extinguished.”
Have Red Bull lost interest in Franco Colapinto?
With Williams and Alpine off the table for Colapinto in 2025, Visa Cash App RB have the final seat available for next year and the Argentine is an option for the team.
But the 21-year-old is believed to have damaged his chances of racing for the team with his most recent performances. Colapinto crashed in qualifying and the race in Sao Paulo and found the wall again in Las Vegas in qualifying, causing significant financial damages to Williams.
In Qatar, the Argentine was wiped out at the first corner in a collision with Nico Hulkenberg and Ocon. While he is a rookie and mistakes and crashes are to be expected from him, these recent incidents are said to have cost Colapinto a seat at Red Bull.
It has even been suggested that Red Bull had agreed terms with Colapinto for 2025, but rescinded the offer after his recent performances. The Argentine is now faced with a spell on the sidelines and will be looking at 2026 for another opportunity in F1.
