"Colapinto wasn't a topic" amid Liam Lawson exit

In the aftermath of Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda swapping seats at Red Bull, Adviser Helmut Mark has spoken out about whether or not Franco Colapinto was supposed to join either Red Bull or Racing Bulls.

According to Marko, Colapinto was not in consideration for Red Bull despite past links.

Amid Sergio Perez's struggles in 2024, Franco was mighty impressive behind the wheel of the Williams car and garnered significant interest in his services, including from Red Bull.

Ultimately, a series of crashes and incidents led Red Bull to pursue a different direction, opting to promote from within. New Zealander Liam Lawson received the nod for the team, but after two disappointing race performances, the team has already pivoted.

Now, Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda is getting the promotion, while Lawson goes back to Racing Bulls.

Colapinto instead ended up as the reserve driver at Alpine, with many believing it is only a matter of time until he gets the full-time seat.

Naturally, due to their past interest, Marko was asked if Franco was ever considered.

“I have a good relationship with Ollie Oakes. He has regularly run some of our drivers in his various teams across the junior categories. One of his drivers is currently racing in the British F4, for example," he told Motorsport.

“That was the reason I met with him. Colapinto wasn’t a topic," according to Marko.

While admitting his debut was impressive, Marko remains steadfast in that the interest never becomes serious.

“Colapinto had a very strong debut in Formula 1. And of course, you have to keep an eye on how things are developing. But in the end, he wasn’t a serious consideration, " Marko said.

“We had Hadjar, who was consistently faster in Formula 2 than Colapinto and, as has now been proven, turned out to be the right choice.”

It is unclear if Colapinto would of taken the seat if it was offered over the Alpine seat, but his addition to the energy drink racing team could have been a huge boon in South America for the team.

Marko has said that Tsunoda will be the driver at the second Red Bull seat for the remainder of the season, starting with the Japanese Grand Prix this week.

“Yuki Tsunoda will finish the season," he told Formel1.de.

“Yuki Tsunoda is a fast driver, we know that, but he’s had his ups and downs. That’s why we thought Lawson was the better and stronger candidate. But Yuki has undergone a transformation. He changed his management, and in this situation, this was simply the best option," he added.

Time will tell if Yuki is given time in the team or another drastic driver change is on the cards.