According to Motorsport.es, Franco Colapinto casts a shadow over Liam Lawson’s Formula 1 career.
Liam Lawson’s first two races of the 2025 season have certainly been very disappointing. In fact, the New Zealand driver has never managed to make it past Q1 in qualifying, falling more than a second behind his Red Bull teammate, Max Verstappen, on all three occasions.
The situation in the race is certainly no better: in Australia, the New Zealand driver retired on lap 46 after a spin at Turn 1 due to the wet track while running in the back of the field. Adding to the Melbourne race is today’s anonymous performance, which he finished more than a minute behind Max Verstappen and even behind the other Red Bull rookie, Isack Hadjar.
The only occasion where Lawson has shown glimpses of the qualities that earned him a promotion to Red Bull for 2025 was yesterday’s Sprint Race, where he climbed from twentieth to fourteenth place with some excellent overtakes, although once again finishing behind Hadjar.
The fact is that after these first two weekends, the New Zealand driver’s contribution to the Constructors’ Championship has been null in terms of points, and already in the ruthless environment of the paddock, rumors are circulating about a possible demotion to Racing Bulls in favor of Yuki Tsunoda, who would then be promoted to Red Bull. For Liam Lawson, however, it wouldn’t only be his Red Bull seat at risk, but also his place on the Formula 1 grid.
In the last few hours, Motorsport.es has launched another important, yet sensational, rumor: according to the Spanish news outlet, Franco Colapinto, currently a reserve driver for the Alpine team, casts a shadow over Liam Lawson’s Formula 1 career. Colapinto would take the seat at Racing Bulls, which would be vacated by Yuki Tsunoda, alongside Isack Hadjar.
Already in the final phase of the 2024 season, the excellent and surprising performances of the Argentine driver behind the wheel of the Williams had not gone unnoticed by the higher-ups at the Austrian team based in Milton Keynes. There were talks of a possible move to Racing Bulls, alongside Yuki Tsunoda. However, at the end of the season, Red Bull’s management opted for the promotion of Isack Hadjar from Formula 2, leaving the Argentine driver without a seat as a full-time driver for the 2025 season.
Thus, Colapinto decided to accept the proposal from Alpine, also thanks to the admiration he received from Flavio Briatore, who was ready to offer him a full-time seat alongside Pierre Gasly if Jack Doohan did not prove to be up to Formula 1 in the first races.
Therefore, the only obstacle to Franco Colapinto’s move to Racing Bulls would theoretically be the Alpine team, which spent millions to secure the Argentine driver. However, now, despite being two races behind, the paths of the Argentine driver and the Faenza-based team could finally cross for real.
PHOTO: Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Williams Racing.