Latest Franco Colapinto move to Red Bull sister team update provided by F1 Insider

Red Bull Racing has stirred up the driver market with the latest reports indicating potential interest in Alpine reserve driver Franco Colapinto. While the young Argentinian was rumored to be a candidate for the sister team, VCARB, an F1 insider suggested that the French team has blocked the move.

Liam Lawson's struggles with the RB21 could trigger the first moves of the silly season, with rumors suggesting the New Zealander might swap seats with VCARB driver Yuki Tsunoda as early as the Japanese GP, the third race of the season. However, Red Bull boss Christian Horner refused to comment on the speculation.

After the Chinese GP weekend, reports from Spanish media suggested that Red Bull was also eyeing Franco Colapinto for its sister team. Helmut Marko was also seen in the Alpine hospitality during the race weekend, further fueling the rumors.

Sergio Rodriguez, an F1 Insider, provided an update on Colapinto's potential move to VCARB, stating that Alpine has blocked the deal to loan him to the Italian team. After sharing a cryptic tweet about the situation, he later elaborated:

"Alpine has BLOCKED Colapinto's loan, that's why the red lights. 🇮🇹 is Racing Bulls... C'mon, this one was easy 😂😁"

Franco Colapinto was previously part of the Williams Junior Academy and made his F1 debut last year, replacing Logan Sargeant. He quickly made an impression, scoring points in his second outing at the Azerbaijan GP and later at the United States GP.

Colapinto signed a multi-year deal with Alpine and serves as the team's reserve driver. Pre-season rumors indicated he would be replacing rookie Jack Doohan early in the season, but the Australian has shown good qualifying speed and decent race pace, compared to his debut outing in the season finale last season.

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Red Bull boss addresses Liam Lawson's future with the team

Lawson in Shangai (Source: Getty)

Liam Lawson had a disastrous start to his 2025 campaign, qualifying 18th for the Australian GP and dead last for both events in the Chinese GP. Red Bull made significant setup changes to the RB21 last weekend, hoping it would help the 23-year-old charge through the field. However, he ended up 12th after three disqualifications.

Team boss Christian Horner declined to comment on the driver swap speculations for the upcoming race. He stated that the team would analyze data from Lawson's Chinese GP outing before making a decision. He also stressed that the team has a "duty" to protect its driver from the external pressure.

"Look, I think everything is purely speculative at the moment. As I say, we’ve just finished this race, we’re going to take away the info and have a good look at it. I think Liam still has got potential, we’re just not realising that at the moment. I think the problem for him is he’s had a couple of really tough weekends and he’s got all the media on his back," he was quoted by Formula1.com.

"The pressure just naturally grows in this business. I feel very sorry for him that he’s… you can see it’s very tough on him at the moment," he added.

Horner also refused to comment on whether Yuki Tsunoda was first in line to replace Lawson as Max Verstappen's teammate. He stressed that the team cannot compete "one-legged" for the championship and hopes Lawson shows improvement.

Max Verstappen has scored 36 points for the team in the opening rounds, sitting second in the Drivers' standings, behind points leader Lando Norris.