Franco Colapinto was not an option for Racing Bulls, said Helmut Marko

The Austrian spoke about his visit to the hospitality of Alpine in China and denied having had the Argentine in a folder at the rise of Yuki Tsunoda to the main team of energy drinks.

The lazy walk of Liam Lawson in China joined that of Australia and in Red Bull decided to take action with immediate effect: Download to New Zealand and put Yuki Tsunoda in place. In Shanghai, a while after the race won by Oscar Piastri, Helmut Marko was seen in the hospitality of Alpine, gathered with Oliver Oakes, the director of the French team. YoThe rumors that put Franco Colapinto as a possible candidate to occupy the Japanese armchair in Racing Bulls, Runrún fogoneado by sectors near the Argentine were lit. However, the ex-Williams was not an option for the house of energy drinks, According to Marko himself in an interview provided with Formel1.de.

“I have a good relationship with Olli Okes. He regularly had some of our pilots in his various teams in the lower categories (NDER: Oakes is the founder of Team Hitech). One of its pilots currently competes in the British GP3, for example. That was the reason I met him. Collapint was not an issue “, It was Marko’s sharp definition.

Colapint had been in the orbit of Red Bull in 2024 to add it to the group by 2025. In fact, AM850.com published a video in which Christian Horner left the hospitality of Williams. “I wanted to try the coffee from our sponsors,” said James Vowles, director of the Grove team, to this medium when he was consulted for the visit of the Pope of Red Bull. The talk was not because of any infusion, there were approaches. But the blows of the Argentine in Brazil and Las Vegas froze the interest.

Marko acknowledged those conversations: “Colapinto had a very strong debut in Formula 1. and, of course, you have to be attentive to how things develop. But in the end, it was not seriously considered. We had Hadjar, which had been systematically faster than collapint in Formula 2 and, as has been demonstrated now, it turned out to be the right choice. “