James Vowles reveals reason behind Christian Horner Williams visit in Brazil

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James Vowles reveals reason behind Christian Horner Williams visit in Brazil

Red Bull’s Christian Horner was spotted down at the Williams motorhome on Friday, as speculation surrounding Franco Colapinto continues.

The Argentinian driver has been linked with a possible move to a Red Bull team for F1 2025, having impressed ever since arriving in F1 after the summer break as a replacement for Logan Sargeant.

James Vowles: Christian Horner enjoyed our coffee!

With Red Bull’s Helmut Marko making no secret of the fact Colapinto is of interest for their driver line-ups, most likely for a seat at VCARB alongside Yuki Tsunoda should Liam Lawson be promoted to Red Bull, Christian Horner has also said he’d be a “bad team principal” if he didn’t evaluate his availability.

A sticking point is believed to be down to Red Bull needing to buy Colapinto entirely from Williams, given his existing arrangement with the Grove-based squad, with the organisation having no interest in a loan agreement for Colapinto’s services.

What’s certain is that there is uncertainty over the Red Bull driver line-ups, with Sergio Perez on thin ice despite his existing two-year contract which sees him ostensibly remain with Red Bull until the end of 2026.

PlanetF1.com understands that Horner’s visit to the Williams motorhome on Friday was to meet with team boss James Vowles over the future of the Argentinean, but Vowles was coy when pressed on the subject during the Friday press conference.

“We’ve recently signed a new coffee sponsor, which is Reviva from Gulf, and he really wanted to try it,” he said with a wry smile.

“That was a good part of the conversation. He enjoyed it!”

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But Vowles was open about the fact there are discussions ongoing about what to do for Colapinto for next year, as there’s no room at the inn for him within the Williams driver line-up as Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz are signed for next season.

“The best I can really tell you is we’re actively working with teams that are interested to try and find the right arrangement that helps Franco,” he said, “that protects Franco as well and protects all parties.

“So it’s very much in those lines. It’s the same concept behind it. It’s never straightforward between Formula 1 teams, because you’re fighting on track and you’re trying to find a solution for the career of a young man, but answering the question, he’s earning his place.

“He needs to do more on track to keep earning his place as a result of things, but he’s shining, and that’s why there’s interest from teams and our responsibility in that, as I have a responsibility both towards him and Williams, and hopefully, we’ll have some great news to be able to talk to everyone about, but today – that isn’t available.”

Asked whether there is any set timeline in place to make a decision regarding Colapinto’s future, Vowles said: “These sorts of things are always hard to do because you’re talking about multiple teams talking together, but it’ll be something that I’m confident before the last race of the season will have nailed. But it’s really hard for me to pinpoint where in between those two timelines.”

Colapinto was asked for his thoughts on his future during Thursday’s press conference in Brazil, in which the question was put to him about whether or not Williams should release him to pursue another opportunity.

“Of course, I don’t know the answer… I guess, yes, I think if Williams cannot give me a race seat,” he said, “I think the normal thing is that they allow me to go somewhere else, and find the best opportunity for me for the future.”

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