It appears as though the Williams driver Franco Colapinto will be taking part in his final Formula 1 race for now at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Franco Colapinto burst onto the scene with Williams after replacing Logan Sargeant for the final nine race weekends of the season.
Five points in his first four races meant he had already surpassed Sargeant’s career tally in F1, albeit with a more competitive car.
Red Bull suddenly took an interest in Colapinto with pressure mounting on Sergio Perez and neither RB driver standing out as a potential option to step into his seat.
Alpine were also keen on Colapinto and it looked as if Williams could suddenly earn a decent windfall from a driver recently signed up to a new long-term deal after just a few races.
However, that interest seems to have dissipated with a string of expensive crashes from the Argentine dampening some of the hype surrounding him.
Journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm shared the latest information on Colapinto’s future on The Race’s YouTube channel and while it appears as though his chances of earning the final open seat at RB have disappeared, there’s one factor that could change their thinking.
Franco Colapinto’s sponsors could ‘suddenly’ change RB’s mind on 2025 F1 seat
Talking about Colapinto’s links with the Red Bull family, Mitchell-Malm said: “Crashing again in Las Vegas seems to have cemented Red Bull’s view that Colapinto would be too big a risk.
“The same reason is why Colapinto had briefly been on Alpine’s radar as well but that interest has cooled too.
“At best, he could still be in the second Red Bull team next season if Lawson replaces Perez, but Red Bull’s Formula 2 driver Isack Hadjar is now the leading candidate there.
“It will need a big swing in Colapinto’s favour in Abu Dhabi like him really impressing against Albon and Hadjar doing a bad job in Verstappen’s Red Bull in Friday practice, then screwing up his F1 decider.
“Hadjar worried Red Bull because his Silverstone FP1 outing earlier this year was weak.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Williams driver Franco Colapinto with praise to stats
“There was a concern about his composure and capacity to deal with how much goes on in an F1 car, but this has potentially faded.
“And if Hadjar wins F2 or is even just a strong second, it would look terrible for Red Bull to spurn that to take a junior from elsewhere.
“That is not something that Red Bull HQ is keen on doing although if tens of millions suddenly appear from Argentina, maybe that would change things.”
This likely leaves Colapinto on the sidelines next year as Williams’ reserve driver using the TPC program to keep his skills sharp while hoping one of F1’s many rookies next season doesn’t get up to speed.
RB waiting for a decision from Red Bull before finalising 2025 F1 driver line-up
Just like last season, one vacant seat remains going into the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Last year, it was Williams who were still unsure whether to stick with Sargeant and while they did offer him a new deal, the American driver was let go before it had the chance to expire.
RB will almost certainly not be in a position to offer current driver Liam Lawson a new contract as much as they might like to.
READ MORE: All to know about Visa Cash App RB from team principal to Red Bull affiliation
A decision on Sergio Perez’s future has been made even if a shareholders meeting scheduled for after the race hasn’t confirmed the move just yet.
One of RB’s drivers is set to be promoted in his place, opening up a spot for Colapinto if he can somehow convince the team he’s the right man for the job.
Otherwise, Isack Hadjar is expected to sign for RB off the back of a strong F2 campaign that could end with him pipping new Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto to the title.
It means – including Lawson if he still qualifies – there will be six rookies on the grid next year, which considering there are only 20 seats – is an unexpectedly high number.
