Sky F1 pundit Martin Brundle believes there is a “great chance” that Franco Colapinto will replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull for the F1 2025 season.

And he reckons Perez‘s poor performance in Las Vegas Grand Prix qualifying has only “cemented” the move “a little bit further.”

Martin Brundle: Franco Colapinto has ‘great chance’ of landing Red Bull F1 2025 seat

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock

Colapinto has made a fine impression since replacing Logan Sargeant at Williams in August, matching established team-mate Alex Albon and scoring points twice in Azerbaijan and the United States.

PlanetF1.com revealed earlier this month that the Argentine has emerged as a contender to become Max Verstappen’s team-mate for F1 2025 after Red Bull boss Christian Horner met Williams team principal James Vowles to discuss a deal for Colapinto at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Vowles previously vowed to help Colapinto to secure a full-time spot on the F1 2025 grid with a rival team, with Williams already committing to fielding Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon next year.

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Despite a reported price tag of £20million to release Colapinto from his Williams contract, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher recently claimed that a deal for the 21-year-old to join the Red Bull stable is “fixed” with bosses yet to decide whether he represents Red Bull or junior team VCARB next season.

Despite signing a new two-year contract in June, Perez is increasingly likely to be dropped by Red Bull at the end of F1 2024 in light of a disastrous season, with the Mexican driver without a podium finish since the Chinese GP in April.

Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko recently confirmed that a final decision on Perez’s future will be made after next month’s season-ending Abu Dhabi GP.

Perez’s season slumped to a new low in qualifying in Las Vegas, where he could only manage 16th in Q1 and lapped almost a second slower than Verstappen.

Speaking during Sky F1‘s coverage of the session – and before Colapinto’s own heavy crash in Q2 – Brundle claimed Colapinto’s hopes of landing a Red Bull seat have increased in light of Perez’s underachievement in Vegas.

Put to him that there is still “half a chance” that Colapinto will be on the grid in F1 2025, Brundle said: “I think there’s a great chance you will – probably in quite a competitive car.

“We’ll see how all that plays out, but I think tonight’s various performances cements that a little bit further.”

Colapinto insisted that he is not thinking too much about his future, with his managers working with Vowles to find a solution for next season.

Asked if he is aiming to gain experience or secure a permanent seat for F1 2025 in the closing weeks of this year, Colapinto told media including PlanetF1.com in Vegas: “I think it’s both.

“I haven’t really thought much about my future so far. I’ve been trying to focus race by race, session by session, and just trying to do my best.

“Not really focusing on what I want to achieve or what expectations I have, just trying to do the basics right and then we see where we end up, but at the moment, it is going well.

“I don’t really know about my future at the moment. It’s more my managers, James is also involved in what [Williams] can do.

“Of course, my goal and my target is to stay in Formula 1. I came only for a couple of races and I’m hoping to show that I’m here to stay, so that’s our goal.

“Of course, Williams has two drivers [signed for F1 2025], so that’s not a possibility, but I’m always very, very grateful to the team.”

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