Helmut Marko has explained that Franco Colapinto wasn’t a considered factor in the recent Red Bull Formula 1 driver shuffle.
After two scoreless rounds to start the 2025 F1 campaign, Liam Lawson has been swapped with Yuki Tsunoda, sending the New Zealander back to Racing Bulls.
Speculation pointed towards Red Bull engaging in discussion with Alpine, which currently boasts a strong group of reserve drivers.
Among Alpine’s roster is Paul Aron, who finished third in last year’s F2 championship, and, of course, Colapinto, who starred during his surprise nine-race stint at Williams in 2024.
Rumour suggested that with regard to helping Red Bull through its most recent driver conundrum, the team would simply poach the likes of Colapinto as a straight Lawson replacement.
Alpine is run by Team Principal Oliver Oakes, who is well-known to Red Bull senior advisor Marko thanks to his time as a driver in the junior academy.
Marko was observed in Shanghai inside the Alpine hospitality, but this wasn’t a discussion over whether any of the Anglo-French outfit’s reserves could fill in at Red Bull, according to the Austrian.
“Yes, I have a good relationship with Ollie Oakes,” Marko told Motorsport.com.
“He has regularly run some of our drivers in his various teams across the junior categories.
“One of his drivers is currently racing in the British [F4, Fionn McLaughlin], for example. That was the reason I met with him. Colapinto wasn’t a topic.”
Colapinto never ‘a serious consideration’ for 2025 Racing Bulls seat
Colapinto replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams from last year’s Italian Grand Prix onwards, having contested just 10 weekends at Formula 2 level.
Still, the Argentine impressed, scoring five points for Williams amid the team’s fight towards the back of the field in 2024.
That put Colapinto on Racing Bulls’ radar for a 2025 seat, which ultimately went to in-house prospect Isack Hadjar, who put together a strong F2 campaign en route to becoming 2024 vice-champion.
It’s a decision Marko feels has been proven right.
“Colapinto had a very strong debut in Formula 1,” he said.
“And of course, you have to keep an eye on how things are developing.
“But in the end, he wasn’t a serious consideration.
“We had Hadjar, who was consistently faster in Formula 2 than Colapinto and, as has now been proven, turned out to be the right choice.”
Hadjar bounced back from a disappointing formation lap exit in Australia to make it into Q3 during qualifying for the Chinese GP, with poor strategy costing him the chance to score his first points in F1.
Colapinto, meanwhile, secured his switch from Williams’ reserve roster to Alpine’s and is knocking on the door to poach a race seat at the earliest opportunity.
READ MORE – Flavio Briatore counts Franco Colapinto among Alpine’s ‘most important assets’
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