Christian Horner drops hint about Franco Colapinto’s Red Bull chances

Christian Horner has implied that Red Bull are no longer considering Franco Colapinto as an option for F1 2025.

Colapinto made an instant name for himself with several starring displays for Williams having replaced the underperforming Logan Sargeant at the Grove-based outfit during the second half of the season.

Those impressive displays saw the 21-year-old Argentinian, who is without a full-time drive for 2025, linked with Red Bull - either as a replacement for the struggling Sergio Perez, or to place in their sister team RB for next season.

But a run of difficult races and a string of heavy crashes have somewhat dimmed the early hype around Colapinto.

When asked if Colapinto is now less of an attractive option for Red Bull, team principal Horner told media including Crash.net in Qatar: “He, for sure, is a talent that’s looking to earn his permanent place in Formula 1.

“We have a great pool of talent within the Red Bull junior team, and I’m sure Franco will find his way onto the grid in the future.”

Red Bull driver pool has ‘strength and depth’

If Red Bull opted to make a change to their driver line-up, they could also promote either Yuki Tsunoda or Liam Lawson, who drive for their sister squad.

Horner refused to confirm whether or not Red Bull have an option on Colapinto for next year, and made a point to praise the performances of Formula 2 championship contender Isack Hadjar.

Hadjar heads into the F2 season finale in Abu Dhabi just half a point behind Gabriel Bortoleto, who has already landed a drive with Sauber for 2025.

“You’re always keeping your eye on what the market is in all teams but we have the strength and depth in the junior programme,” Horner said.

“It was good to see Isack Hadjar doing a good job today in Formula 2 as well.

“I think there’s what, half a point between the drivers going into the final race in Abu Dhabi. Liam and Yuki were very closely matched in that race [Qatar], in terms of pace, so we’ve got a full stable of drivers.”

Asked if any of the candidates could handle the pressure of going up against four-time world champion Max Verstappen, Horner replied: “That’s a very good question.

“Being Max Verstappen’s teammate is probably the hardest job in Formula 1 but that would apply for any of the drivers on the grid, I believe.” 

Perez can 'come to own conclusions' 

Horner implied Red Bull will let Perez decide his F1 future of his own accord as he hinted at an exit for the under-pressure Mexican.

"I'm going to let Checo come to his own conclusions, nobody's forcing him one way or another," Horner said in response to a question from Crash.net. "It's not a nice situation for him to obviously be in."

Perez, who has scored 152 points compared to Verstappen's 429 this season, has a contract covering the 2025 season and has made it clear he has no intention to retire. 

Pushed by Crash.net whether Red Bull would have to force a decision if Perez decided to stay following the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Horner replied: "Let's get to the end of Abu Dhabi and see where we're at."