Watch: Christian Horner seen leaving Williams hospitality as Franco Colapinto to Red Bull switch rumors resurface

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was spotted leaving the Williams F1 hospitality during the Brazilian Grand Prix on Friday amidst reports of the Austrian team's interest in Franco Colapinto. The Argentine driver has caught the attention of many effort teams on the grid due to his superlative performances ever since he made his debut at the Italian Grand Prix earlier in the season.

The 21-year-old replaced Logan Sargeant at the Grove-based outfit in Monza and has already scored five points from as many races. But he would not be able to race for the British team in the 2025 season as they have already decided on Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon as their driver lineup for next year.

However, Red Bull have shown interest in securing Colapinto's services for the 2025 season and giving him a seat in possibly the VCARB F1 team if either Yuki Tsunoda or Liam Lawson move up to the senior team.

In a clip floating on social media ahead of the only practice session at Interlagos, Christian Horner was spotted leaving the Williams F1 hospitality zone after possibly meeting with team principal James Vowles.

Speaking with AMUS in Mexico, the Red Bull team boss had alluded to the fact that they were interested in Franco Colapinto and said:

"Colapinto is an interesting driver. He is surprisingly much better for everyone than it was indicated in Formula 2. I would be a bad team boss if I didn't sound out whether he is available."

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Red Bull advisor gives his take on Franco Colapinto joining them in 2025

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko said it would be tricky for them to land Franco Colapinto from Williams given his contract situation.

Speaking with Kleine Zeitung, the Austrian said:

"The problem with him is that he has a long-term contract with Williams. [Taking him on loan] is not interesting for any team. You do not want to train a driver for another team."

The rookie in the pre-race press conference was also open to joining other teams if he failed to get a drive with the iconic British team, saying (via AMUS):

"I think if Williams cannot give me a race seat, I think the normal thing is that they allow me to go somewhere else and that they find the best opportunity for me for the future. But I'm not the right person to be asked.

"I should be the last one, you know. I'm here with Williams this weekend and I'm going to try to do my best here in Brazil. So, look, I think for the future ... it will be great if it [an F1 opportunity] happens," he said.

It is being reported that Colapinto would race alongside Tsunoda in VCARB and Lawson would be promoted to Red Bull to replace Sergio Perez next year.