Ralf Schumacher expects Franco Colapinto to drive for one of the two Red Bull teams in 2025 – However, it is still unclear which team he will join
“From my point of view, Colapinto is a done deal,” explains Formula 1 expert Ralf Schumacher when asked in an exclusive interview on the YouTube channel of Formel1.de whether Franco Colapinto could possibly switch to the Red Bull camp in 2025.
Because although the two cockpits at Red Bull Racing have already been officially awarded to Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, and the sister team Racing Bulls would have enough options from their own junior squad alongside Yuki Tsunoda, who has also already been confirmed.
But hardly any experts currently believe that Perez will still be at Red Bull in 2025, which could bring a completely new dynamic to the driver market. And Williams driver Colapinto could also play a decisive role in this.
Although the Argentine, who took over Logan Sargeant’s cockpit at Monza, has performed well in some of his six previous Formula 1 races, Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz have already been confirmed at Williams for 2025.
So if the 21-year-old wants to continue driving Formula 1 next year, he will have to look outside the team. And there have been rumors for some time that he could be drawn to Red Bull.
Colapinto: “Pretty big deal” with Red Bull?
“There was probably a very strong interest from the top level, beyond Helmut Marko,” Schumacher believes. Because Colapinto would bring a big “package” with him, which also includes some sponsors. “It must have been a pretty big deal,” said Schumacher.
And even leaving aside the commercial reasons, Colapinto has done a “great job” so far, the expert praises, adding: “I’ll be honest: I didn’t expect it to be like this. He hasn’t been that noticeable in Formula 2.”
There, Colapinto won a sprint race before his Formula 1 rise this year, but he did not fight for the championship. In 2022 and 2023, he had previously finished ninth and fourth in the overall Formula 3 standings.
Colapinto was never a high-flyer like Oscar Piastri, for example, who won the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles in his first year in each series. But that’s precisely why it’s “nice to see that he has taken off like this,” said Schumacher.
“And he definitely deserves the chance,” emphasizes the six-time Grand Prix winner, who clarifies: ‘Sergio Perez is just so far away at the moment that it would be nice to see a young man get the chance.’
Colapinto to Red Bull or the Racing Bulls?
However, in such a case, it would be open who exactly would take over the Perez cockpit. Because if Colapinto really does switch to Red Bull, he could also get a place with the Racing Bulls for the time being and a driver from their own ranks could take Perez’s place.
“I think they’re still not quite sure internally,”
where two options were reported last week. First: Liam Lawson takes Perez’s place, with Colapinto taking Lawson’s place with the Racing Bulls. Second: Lawson stays where he is, and Colapinto is brought directly to Red Bull Racing.
Either way, Schumacher is “pretty sure that [Colapinto] will get some chance to sit in some car.”