F1 star confirms SHOCK Red Bull transfer interest

Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Lewis Hamilton in the background — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 star confirms SHOCK Red Bull transfer interest

Franco Colapinto will start the upcoming F1 season in a reserve driver role

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Saturday 22 February 2025 09:53

Formula 1 star Franco Colapinto has confirmed that shock Red Bull transfer discussions did take place after his bombshell entrance into the sport last season.

The Argentine racer will not start the upcoming season in a full-time race seat, but he has secured a role within F1 to help keep him at the forefront of everyone's minds.

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Colapinto was called upon to make the immediate step up to the pinnacle of motorsport following yet another crash for Williams driver Logan Sargeant at the 2024 Dutch GP.

Having cost the Grove-based outfit vital points on several occasions in the first half of the season, James Vowles opted to drop the American racer in the hope of improving his team's chances.

Colapinto dropped his F2 campaign in a promotion to F1 where he raced alongside Alex Albon at Williams for the final nine races of the championship.

Franco Colapinto will be watching from the Alpine garage as Jack Doohan competes in his debut season

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Will Colapinto be back in a full-time F1 seat in 2025?

After impressing not only Williams but many rival teams across the paddock last year, Colapinto suddenly became a high-profile name for teams to consider when shuffling their driver lineup around ahead of 2025.

During the peak of the hype that quickly gathered around the 21-year-old's talent, rumours of serious interest from Red Bull gained traction despite Christian Horner's outfit boasting their own impressive pool of junior drivers.

Ahead of his first season as a reserve driver for Alpine, Colapinto has confirmed that Red Bull were among the teams who had registered interest in signing him to their ranks.

As reported by Mundo Deportivo, Colapinto said in a recent interview: "I wanted to prove that I deserved a seat in Formula 1 and that I hadn't just arrived there to race nine races, that I had arrived for a lot longer.

"When I got in, I knew there was no seat for 2025, so I was with that in mind, but I also wanted to show what I could do and I showed it well. There's a reason why people like Flavio, like Alpine, like Red Bull were very interested at the time."