Christian Horner astonished by ‘exceptional’ driver Helmut Marko is interested in signing

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Red Bull rarely shop outside their driver academy in Formula 1. When they’ve broken that policy, it has indicated a lack of trust in their own options.

For instance, when the team decided to part ways with Alex Albon at the end of 2020, neither of the drivers at AlphaTauri (now RB) were legitimate candidates. In fact, both Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat had been dropped by Red Bull before.

Gasly lasted just half a season alongside Verstappen before he was demoted in favour of Albon. Kvyat, on the other hand, made it to his second year but lost his spot to the Dutchman by the fifth race.

Yuki Tsunoda arrived for the 2021 campaign but there was no prospect of him jumping straight to the senior team. That’s a luxury reserved for drivers regarded as generational talents, like Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli at McLaren and Mercedes respectively.

Even now, more than three years later, Christian Horner says Tsunoda has ‘no chance’ of racing for Red Bull. He remains in the seat largely because his ties to engine suppliers Honda, though the team will build their own power units from 2026.

In 2021, Red Bull recruited Sergio Perez, who was set to fall off the F1 grid after Lawrence Stroll signed Sebastian Vettel to partner his son Lance. Perez has faced constant questions over his future in recent times but the production line has yet to deliver a worthy successor.

Christian Horner taken aback by how well Franco Colapinto has performed at Williams

Liam Lawson has replaced Daniel Ricciardo for the final six races of 2024, setting up an effective audition for Perez’s seat. F2 title contender Isack Hadjar could then succeed him at RB.

With Tsunoda expected to join Aston Martin in 2026 – they will race with Honda engines at that point – the door would be open for F3 starlet Arvid Lindblad the following season. But Franco Colapinto may also be on Red Bull’s radar.

Colapinto made his F1 debut at the Italian GP last month after replacing the underperforming Logan Sargeant. He’ll see out the season before Carlos Sainz arrives to partner Albon.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Horner issued glowing praise for the Argentine. He says nobody expected him to start in such an ‘impressive’ fashion.

“Colapinto, I think, has been a complete surprise,” he said. “Because he was largely unnoticed in F2. Nobody was even talking about him. And then he jumped in that Williams and in the couple of races that he’s done, he’s been exceptional. He’s been really, really impressive.”

Helmut Marko could pay ‘a load of money’ to sign Franco Colapinto to Red Bull programme

After a solid first outing in Monza, Colapinto sensationally bagged four points in Azerbaijan. Sargeant had only managed one in his 18 months in the seat.

He would then qualify within seven-thousandths of Albon in Singapore before narrowly missing out on another score. He kept Perez behind for much of the race, no doubt catching the eye of an otherwise frustrated Red Bull.

One journalist says Helmut Marko could pay ‘a load of money’ for Colapinto if he isn’t satisfied with his international options. Red Bull weren’t overly impressed with Hadjar when made his FP1 debut for the British GP.

James Vowles already has his driver line-up under contract for multiple years. But Guenether Steiner reckons Colapinto could replace Albon if the Thai driver fails to convince in 2025.