Red Bull Racing are have entered their enclave with a lengthy debate on who their Formula One driver lineup will be for 2025. The white smoke was expected on Thursday after the Abu Dhabi finale but for some reason it never came.
The team once again changed its driver lineup mid-season this year as Daniel Ricciardo was finally put out to pasture and replaced by young gun Liam Lawson. The New Zealander was expected to step up and replace Sergio Perez for the next campaign, but his results when measured against team mate Yuki Tsunoda mean he’s out of contention.
The Japanese driver beat his kiwi team mate 6-0 in Grand Prix qualifying and scored double the points of Lawson in their six race weekends together. Yet such was the uncertainty within Red Bull that either Lawson or Tsunoda can do the job required against Max Verstappen, that Williams’ rising Argentinian star, Franco Colapinto was in the frame for a while.
The Colapinto enigma
Colapinto burst onto the F1 scene at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix when Williams decided to ditch the hapless Logan Sargeant. He scored points in two of his first four weekends and in qualifying he was generally a lot closer to Alex Albon than had been his predecessor.
Desperate to prove he was worth a place on the 2025 grid, Franco pushed the envelope of his Williams car, but four crashes across three weekends between Brazil and Qatar left the British racing marque with a bill running into the millions and a potential cost cap breach at the end of the year where damages are in excess of $10m.
Following his dazzling debut, Red Bull had shown a keen interest in the young Argentinian with Christian Horner being entertained in their hospitality, deep in conversation with James Vowles. Paddock whispers had it he would not have to serve time in the sister V-CARB team but be the direct replacement for Sergio Perez.
As the only Latin American driver on the grid, Checo brings substantial South American sponsorship to the team so replacing him with an Argentinian who would attract the same kind of funding appeared an attractive proposition. But having destroyed his car twice in Brazil and with his last five results reading, P12, DNF, P14, DNF, DNF the Red Bull interest faded away.
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Williams boss James Vowles was keen to get the William’s protege on the grid for next year, but the $20m price tag to buy him out of Williams also appeared to become a stumbling block. He will become Williams reserve driver for 2025 unless there latest paddock whispers bear fruit.
Meanwhile over at Alpine its all change. A new team boss in Oliver Oakes was appointed Flavio Briatore returned to active duties in F1 in an effort to turn things around at the French owned squad. According to veteran Joe Saward writing in his ‘Green Book’ the plan Briatore has hatched will see the team’s latest new driver, Jack Doohan, ditched in favour of the Argentinian.
Doohan made his debut for Alpine at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix following the decision by Briatore to dismiss Esteban Ocon who was Haas bound for the post season test. The Aussie qualified last but finished in fifteenth in the Grand Prix, that said there were four DNF’s and only Kevin Magnussen behind the Alpine debutant.
According to Saward the “ultimate plan” the mastermind Briatore has is to replace Jack Doohan with Franco Colapinto who of course brings some $30m in South American sponsorship. “It does not matter whether Jack is better than Franco (or vice versa),” says Saward. “We will see if this is what happens and until it does I think we should give Briatore the benefit of the doubt and give him the chance to show that he really is a pussycat and not a truly horrid person.”
Briatore has to be seen to do the right thing
Briatore has been tasked by Renault with making the F1 team less of a financial lack hole for its owners hence the decision to close the F1 engine production facility at Viry and use Mercedes power units from 2026.
When a driver like Franco Colapinto comes along with huge financial backing, its easy to class the young driver alongside the pay drivers like Nicholas Latiffi and Logan Sargeant, yet Franco is a genuine talent if still raw at the moment.
Reports from the Las Vegas paddock suggested Doohan has just a five race contract for next season which was signed before Franco arrived on the scene. This in part may be due to the fact that Briatore manages Jack Doohan and so by agreeing to a probationary period, Flavio cannot be accused of plundering the F1 asset with which he is tasked to save.
Whatever the reason for the five race weekend deal it has put Alpine in the position where come the Miami Grand Prix at the start of May, they may well be fielding their third driver of the year in young Franco Colapinto.
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In his media rounds in Abu Dhabi, Jack Doohan went to great lengths to explain to the media in attendance that he was slowly building up his confidence in the car and would’t be pushing it to the limit. Yet coming home de facto last – KMAG pitted an extra time for fastest lap – and a lap down was hardly the fire cracker start we saw from the young Argentinian back in Monza.
When asked which of the rookies who debuted this season impressed the most, Eddie Jordan gave his usual direct response. “I have to go for Oliver Bearman. My God, what he did in his first race to score points was, for me, blew me away. Absolutely. Yes, it’d be difficult for him going forward. He probably hopes that he will get in a Ferrari at some stage.
“But Oliver, for me, you’ve made your mark up here in my mind. You’ll be one I’ll always be looking down the scoresheet to see where you are.”
Why Ricciardo will be back in F1 2026
The demise of Daniel Ricciardo over the past three Formula One seasons has been painful to watch. The Red Bull heir to the throne when Sebastian Vettel left for Ferrari saw his best days in F1 when he was racing with the Milton Keynes based squad.
The loveable Aussie with his huge grin and big personality has been adored by F1 fans the world alike and his inclusion in the V-CARB team this year was reportedly pressed by the new team’s title sponsor Visa Cash App. Yet Ricciardo did not match up to his team mate Yuki Tsunoda and with six races remaining he was replaced by Liam Lawson.
Ricciardo, a product of the Red Bull academy, made his F1 debut in Jerez testing for three day end of season test in Jerez 2009. He clocked the fastest time by over a second turning the head of Christian Horner who suggested he might replace Hartley as the team’s test driver the following season… READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
