Williams driver Franco Colapinto has dismissed rumours he is in the frame for a seat at Red Bull's RB Formula 1 team, suggesting he will be on the sidelines in 2025.
Colapinto wowed the F1 paddock with his strong performances and calm attitude as a mid-season replacement for Logan Sargeant at Williams. In his five races thus far, the Argentinian scored five points and never finished lower than 12th, with another combative display at Sunday's Mexican Grand Prix going unrewarded.
There is no room for Colapinto as a regular driver at Williams next year, with the team having already signed Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, who won Sunday's grand prix, to slot in alongside Alex Albon.
But the 21-year-old's form has turned enough heads for him to be considered at Sauber and at Red Bull, which may have a slot at its RB team for Colapinto to slot into.
But while there have been casual talks between Williams and Red Bull, with Williams team boss James Vowles willing to loan his reserve driver out, Colapinto has dismissed suggestions he could be on the F1 grid next year.
"No, at the moment, I don't understand much of what they are talking about. I don't know from where it came from," Colapinto told F1 TV.
"I don't have any seat for next year, and at the moment, I'm not racing Formula 1. I'm probably going to be racing somewhere else.
"So look, it's going to be maybe a year that I'm not going to be here, but I hope to be showing that I deserve a seat here enough to come back in '26 or '27. It is my goal, and it's why I'm doing what I can race after race.
"That's why [after qualifying] I was disappointed with the result and just trying to do my best session after session to try and show I deserve to be here."
While Red Bull is understood to have some interest in Colapinto, driver advisor Helmut Marko suggested the team is not keen on taking outside drivers on loan when it has its own junior programme, with F2 frontrunner Isack Hadjar also waiting in the wings.
"The problem with him is that he has a long-term contract with Williams," the Austrian told the Kleine Zeitung. "[Taking him on loan] is not interesting for any team. You do not want to train a driver for another team."
On the subject of potentially loaning Colapinto to RB, Vowles added: "I think in all of these things at the moment, let's start with the basics.
"He has earned his place on the grid, and what we want to help with that is finding him a place in that regard.
"What it looks like, I can't tell you at the moment, because A, it's very sensitive, and B, there's really not a lot to discuss right now. "
