Visa Cash App RB havw the last seat available for the 2025 Formula 1 season, and several drivers are linked to the team.
Liam Lawson has been racing with the Faenza squad since he replaced Daniel Ricciardo at the Singapore Grand Prix. The Kiwi driver is likely to be signed full-time for next year alongside Yuki Tsunoda.
However, the situation at Red Bull is set to cause a major stir for next season, as the team tries to work out what to do with Sergio Perez.
Despite having a contract until at least 2026, the Mexican has had a torrid season at Red Bull having not finished in the top five since the Miami Grand Prix. The season finale in Abu Dhabi is likely to be his last race with the team.
Perez may suffer the same fate as Ricciardo as he is contracted to the company Red Bull rather than Red Bull Racing. If the Mexican is sacked, RB drivers Lawson and Tsunoda will battle it out to replace him.
Red Bull have also been looking at candidates outside their current pool of drivers, but for Will Buxton, the ‘shine’s gone’ from one of their targets as their interest appears to have faded.
Will Buxton thinks the ‘shine’s gone’ from Franco Colapinto as teams have ‘very much gone off’ him for 2025
Red Bull were interested in Franco Colapinto after his impressive start to life with Williams. The Argentine scored five points in his opening four races as teams around the paddock began to look at the 21-year-old for 2025.
It was suggested that Colapinto had ‘agreed’ terms with RB for next season. However, the Williams driver has had a torrid last few races, suffering multiple crashes and causing severe financial damage to the Grove-based outfit.
RB are reportedly no longer interested in Colapinto as they look to explore other options. It is a huge U-turn from the team given that the Argentine was being labelled as ‘the next Senna’ after his earlier performances.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Williams driver Franco Colapinto with praise to stats
Speaking on the Weekend Warm-Up show on the F1 YouTube channel, Buxton thinks the ‘shine’s gone from Colapinto as teams have ‘gone off’ the young talent for 2025.
“I think Colapinto’s going home,” he said. “I think the shine’s gone off Colapinto. Everyone after two races, everyone’s like ‘he’s the next Senna.’
“In a cost cap era, you can’t be crashing as much as he has. Alpine were sniffing around, Red Bull teams were sniffing around. From what I’ve heard, they’ve very much gone off that.”
Could RB reignite their interest in Franco Colapinto?
With Colapinto seemingly out of the running, Formula 2 title contender Isack Hadjar is now next in line for an opportunity at RB, according to team principal Christian Horner at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Frenchman is just half a point behind Gabriel Bortoleto heading into the final round of the F2 season. Hadjar drove for Red Bull in FP1 in what was an audition for a full-time seat in 2025.
READ MORE: Who is Isack Hadjar as Red Bull prospect gets Abu Dhabi GP outing? Age, nationality, stats, and more
However, the session did not go as smoothly as he may have hoped, with Ted Kravitz saying Colapinto was the ‘big winner’ from FP1 as Hadjar again struggled to get to grips with an F1 car.
F1 is full of twists and turns, so RB suddenly changing their mind again about Colapinto and reigniting their interest should not be ruled out.
But it does seem that Hadjar is the favourite to race with the team next year. Colapinto faces a spell on the sidelines as Williams’ reserve driver before trying to land a drive for the 2026 season.
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