{"id":31974,"date":"2025-03-23T11:56:15","date_gmt":"2025-03-23T15:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=31974"},"modified":"2025-03-23T12:00:21","modified_gmt":"2025-03-23T16:00:21","slug":"franco-colapinto-linked-to-vcarb-move-in-shock-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/03\/23\/franco-colapinto-linked-to-vcarb-move-in-shock-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Franco Colapinto linked to VCARB move in shock report"},"content":{"rendered":"

It feels like an eternity ago since Red Bull had true stability with their driver line-up. The last few days have been flooded with reports about Yuki Tsunoda potentially replacing Liam Lawson<\/a>. Amidst this flurry of activity, a new name has entered the mix – Franco Colapinto.<\/p>\n

According to new reports, Colapinto is being considered for a VCARB seat.<\/p>\n

Whilst this is an unexpected development, it would not be the first time Red Bull showed interest in Franco Colapinto.<\/p>\n

Red Bull’s long-term Colapinto interest<\/h4>\n

Although Red Bull eventually decided to promote Lawson at the end of last season, he wasn’t the only driver being considered.<\/p>\n

Ironically, it wasn’t even fellow VCARB driver Yuki Tsunoda who was on their radar.<\/p>\n

In the aftermath of his impressive Williams<\/a> debut, it was Franco Colapinto who managed to attract Red Bull’s interest.<\/p>\n

The Argentine driver shocked the F1 world with his points finish in Baku, just his second Grand Prix in the sport.<\/p>\n

Christian Horner confirmed at the end of last season<\/a> that preliminary talks were held with Colapinto in 2024.<\/p>\n

However, a series of errors for the 21-year-old dissuaded Red Bull from pursuing talks further, as Alpine moved in and became his most enthusiastic suitor.<\/p>\n

In any case, Red Bull’s previous negotiations with Colapinto provide some context into some of the reports emerging from the paddock.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Franco Colapinto (ARG) Williams Racing Academy Driver.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 12, British Grand Prix, Friday 5th July 2024. Silverstone, England.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to es.motorsport.com<\/a>, the Argentine is being considered for a VCARB seat – which could become available in Japan if Tsunoda replaces Lawson.<\/p>\n

Obviously, for Colapinto to join the Faenza-based team could result in Lawson being removed completely.<\/p>\n

Because of this, foreseeing such a scenario is difficult to say the least.<\/p>\n

Then again, this does not invalidate the accuracy of this development, especially considering Red Bull’s traditional driver approach.<\/p>\n

The Milton Keynes team are no strangers to being ruthless, and this is unlikely to change anytime soon.<\/p>\n

Should Lawson be replaced by Tsunoda<\/a>, it isn’t inconceivable he could spend some time on the sidelines.<\/p>\n

After all, Red Bull have a history of drivers (i.e Gasly, Kvyat) whose reputations at the main team never truly recovered after being demoted.<\/p>\n

Why VCARB is a convenient fit for Colapinto<\/h4>\n

It is not inconceivable that Red Bull, for better or worse, wouldn’t see a path back for Lawson<\/a> at the main team if he is replaced.<\/p>\n

Amidst all the speculation about Red Bull, the unusual driver dynamics at Alpine have been overlooked.<\/p>\n

Before Lawson’s difficult start to 2025, Jack Doohan<\/a> was often described as driver at risk of being replaced mid-season.<\/p>\n

After all, Alpine have signed Franco Colapinto to a multi-year deal – with the intention of eventually putting him in a full-time seat.<\/p>\n

The Enstone team’s intentions of promoting Colapinto have been made clear, both implicitly and explicitly.<\/p>\n

However, Doohan is performing very well to start 2025. Putting aside his crash in Australia, the 22-year-old has been solid in the A525.<\/p>\n

He is generally matching the efforts of teammate Pierre Gasly, which is a commendable feat for a rookie.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Franco Colapinto (ARG) Williams Racing FW46 in the pits.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 22, Las Vegas Grand Prix, Friday 22nd November 2024. Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Both in qualifying and race he looks comfortable, which would make it difficult for Alpine to justify replacing him.<\/p>\n

As a result, reports linking Colapinto to a surprise VCARB deal could solve a predicament for Flavio Briatore’s squad<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Alpine could send the 21-year-old to the Faenza team ‘on loan’. This would allow them to assess all three of their drivers and make a more informed decision for 2026.<\/p>\n

To be clear, more information is necessary to determine how likely this blockbuster move is to materialising.<\/p>\n

With that said, nothing can be discarded for a Red Bull team who could be forced into adjustments before the Japanese GP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It feels like an eternity ago since Red Bull had true stability with their driver line-up. The last few days have been flooded with reports about Yuki Tsunoda potentially replacing Liam Lawson. Amidst this flurry of activity, a new name has entered the mix – Franco Colapinto. According to new reports, Colapinto is being considered […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4927,"featured_media":31976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[2343,2452,2245,78],"class_list":["post-31974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-colapinto","tag-f1-2025-season","tag-racing-bulls","tag-red-bull-racing"],"modified_by":"Jaden Diaz-Ndisang","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4927"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31974"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31980,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31974\/revisions\/31980"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}