Nov.18 (GMM) Franco Colapinto is on the way in which to Crimson Bull, in accordance with former F1 driver and now pundit Ralf Schumacher.
The spectacular rookie must vacate his Williams seat on the finish of the yr, however there have been rumours the crew may maintain him onboard in 2025 and permit Carlos Sainz to modify to Crimson Bull.
Williams rejects that concept outright, confirming that Sainz will check the 2024 automotive within the post-Abu Dhabi check earlier than lining up on the grid subsequent season.
“Carlos will drive for Williams alongside Alex Albon in 2025, forming some of the formidable driver lineups on the grid,” the crew declared in a press release.
Behind the scenes, fevered negotiations have been going down between Williams, 21-year-old Colapinto’s administration, and potential different groups for 2025 together with Crimson Bull and Alpine.
Schumacher, nevertheless, says it’s clear to him the place the Argentine will find yourself.
“There was loads of curiosity in him, and never solely from Helmut Marko,” he instructed formel1.de. “I believe Colapinto is a certainty at Crimson Bull.”
Williams boss James Vowles has apparently been demanding $20 million to launch Colapinto from his 2025 contract, however Crimson Bull may cowl that with the teenager’s immense new business enchantment inside Argentina.
“Colapinto can carry an entire package deal of sponsors,” mentioned Schumacher. “He could have closed some massive offers.”
Some suppose Colapinto may change the struggling Sergio Perez, though Schumacher admits a spot at Crimson Bull’s junior outfit RB can also be doable.
“That’s query,” mentioned Schumacher. “I don’t suppose Crimson Bull is aware of precisely both.
“Internally, the scenario between Christian Horner and Helmut Marko continues to be not optimum. Then you’ve got Max’s father, who is absolutely not proud of the entire scenario. It’s thrilling to see the way it’s all solved, however I’m fairly certain that Colapinto will find yourself in a kind of automobiles.”
Schumacher does admit {that a} younger driver like Colapinto is a threat for Crimson Bull Racing, regardless that he’s impressed with how shortly the newest inflow of rookies are adapting.
“However you may nonetheless see that Method 1 isn’t any pony park,” he mentioned. “You may see it with (Oscar) Piastri. It’s not fairly as clean because it typically appears to be like.”
