Red Bull’s Christian Horner was spotted down at the
Williams motorhome on Friday, as speculation surrounding Franco Colapinto
continues.
The Argentinian driver has been linked with a possible move
to a Red Bull team for F1 2025, having impressed ever since arriving in F1
after the summer break as a replacement for Logan Sargeant.
James Vowles: Christian Horner enjoyed our coffee!
With Red Bull’s Helmut Marko making no secret of the fact
Colapinto is of interest for their driver line-ups, most likely for a seat at
VCARB alongside Yuki Tsunoda should Liam Lawson be promoted to Red Bull,
Christian Horner has also said he’d be a “bad team principal” if he didn’t
evaluate his availability.
A sticking point is believed to be down to Red Bull needing to buy
Colapinto entirely from Williams, given his existing arrangement with the
Grove-based squad, with the organisation having no interest in a loan agreement
for Colapinto’s services.
What’s certain is that there is uncertainty over the Red
Bull driver line-ups, with Sergio Perez on thin ice despite his existing
two-year contract which sees him ostensibly remain with Red Bull until the end
of 2026.
PlanetF1.com understands that Horner’s visit to the Williams
motorhome on Friday was to meet with team boss James Vowles over the future of
the Argentinean, but Vowles was coy when pressed on the subject during the
Friday press conference.
“We’ve recently signed a new coffee sponsor, which is Reviva
from Gulf, and he really wanted to try it,” he said with a wry smile.
“That was a good part of the conversation. He enjoyed it!”
But Vowles was open about the fact there are discussions
ongoing about what to do for Colapinto for next year, as there’s no room at the
inn for him within the Williams driver line-up as Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz
are signed for next season.
“The best I can really tell you is we’re actively working
with teams that are interested to try and find the right arrangement that helps
Franco,” he said, “that protects Franco as well and protects all parties.
“So it’s very much in those lines. It’s the same concept
behind it. It’s never straightforward between Formula 1 teams, because you’re
fighting on track and you’re trying to find a solution for the career of a
young man, but answering the question, he’s earning his place.
“He needs to do more on track to keep earning his place as a
result of things, but he’s shining, and that’s why there’s interest from teams
and our responsibility in that, as I have a responsibility both towards him and
Williams, and hopefully, we’ll have some great news to be able to talk to
everyone about, but today – that isn’t available.”
Asked whether there is any set timeline in place to make a decision regarding Colapinto’s future, Vowles said: “These sorts of things are always hard to do because you’re talking about multiple teams talking together, but it’ll be something that I’m confident before the last race of the season will have nailed. But it’s really hard for me to pinpoint where in between those two timelines.”
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