F1 paddock ‘whisper’ now suggests Franco Colapinto could replace ‘under pressure’ driver in 2025

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Williams Racing added a single point to their tally at the United States Grand Prix thanks to Franco Colapinto.

On the occasion of Alex Albon’s 100th Grand Prix, it was Franco Colapinto who came away from the Circuit of the Americas as the happier driver.

Colapinto outqualified Albon for the Sprint Race before those roles were reversed for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

However, Albon made contact with Esteban Ocon’s Alpine going into the opening corner and that impacted his race as he eventually finished 16th, a lap down on eventual race winner Charles Leclerc.

Colapinto nailed a homemade strategy that Williams initially disagreed with to perfectly nail a long first stint that put him in contention to score points.

At one point, Colapinto also had the fastest lap until Ocon stole it from him as Alpine denied Williams what could be a crucial point in the Constructors’ Championship.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Williams driver Franco Colapinto with praise to stats

Ocon later apologised to Colapinto for stealing the fastest lap as he believed the Argentinian deserved it more than he did.

Every passing race makes the prospect of Colapinto not having a seat on the 2025 grid harder to comprehend, however, journalist Chris Medland was speaking on the Pit Pass F1 Podcast and suggested that may not necessarily be the case.

Only RB and Sauber haven’t confirmed their line-ups for 2025, but that could provide the Argentine with the opportunity he needs to extend his time in F1 beyond the end of this campaign.

Franco Colapinto could replace Sergio Perez within the Red Bull setup in 2025

Medland was talking about Colapinto’s prospects and explained how Sergio Perez’s recent struggles at Red Bull might play to his advantage.

He said: “There’s been a whisper of there being some interest from RB in Colapinto because Williams have confirmed their lineup for next season, RB have not yet.

“Lawson going in there is partly to have a look at what he can do in case he’s needed to replace Sergio Perez.

“Perez did not cover himself in glory this weekend. It was just another kind of uncompetitive run.

“Horner said Perez needs to improve his pace; he needs to find more performance, we desperately need it.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Sergio Perez’s life outside F1 from net worth to nickname

“I think there is a real chance that if that doesn’t happen over these last five races, Perez could be out of that seat.

And if Lawson performs like he did this weekend, he could be in. If not, then Tsunoda might get a shot too.

“But then there will be a vacancy at RB still and Colapinto is available, clearly very talented, clearly very quick.

“He’s a young driver, so there’s a lot of time to develop him as well and he represents a huge market in Argentina that’s really being unlocked by his success.

“So there could be something there that could run and run. So we’ll have to see how Perez responds really under pressure at his home race next weekend.”

Helmut Marko has already issued his Franco Colapinto verdict

Liam Lawson and Colapinto were two of the standout drivers at the US Grand Prix and put their more experienced teammates to shame by scoring points on their first visits to the track.

Lawson is auditioning for Perez’s race seat and given he only finished 11 seconds behind the Red Bull despite starting 10 places behind him, he would have quickly turned heads in the Red Bull garage with his performance.

Helmut Marko is responsible for the development of Red Bull’s young drivers and pushed hard for Lawson to be given his chance this season.

Marko has also complimented Colapinto and knew well before his F1 debut what a talent he was.

That could prove crucial if Red Bull decide to call time on Perez’s Formula 1 career.