Helmut Marko visits Alpine hospitality in China: could Franco Colapinto return on F1 grid?. Helmut Marko was spotted at Alpine’s hospitality during the Shanghai weekend..

A situation that’s hard to predict
“Lawson has a great mental strength,” Helmut Marko had stated to explain why Red Bull decided to choose the New Zealander over Yuki Tsunoda as Max Verstappen’s teammate for 2025. Now, for Red Bull to stand by these words and give Liam Lawson the opportunity to truly demonstrate his mental strength, they should give the ‘kiwi’ another chance to drive the Red Bull. However, a change with Yuki Tsunoda at Suzuka can’t be ruled out, although one might wonder what Red Bull expected from Lawson on tracks where he had never driven before with hardly any testing time, as during the full day of testing in Bahrain, Lawson faced issues with the power unit due to a hydraulic leak.

Further complicating the situation regarding a potential seat swap between Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson is the report by Autosport that Helmut Marko was spotted at Alpine’s hospitality during the Shanghai weekend. Franco Colapinto was also on the Red Bull Racing radar at the end of 2024, and now the Argentine is Alpine’s reserve driver.

The team principal of the French team, Oliver Oakes, had said that Jack Doohan would have time to prove his worth, and in China, the Australian drove as though his career were on the line, fiercely defending his position in the race from Isack Hadjar’s attacks, a driving style that even led to penalties on his racing license. Doohan beat his teammate Pierre Gasly in the Sprint Qualifying and was not far behind the team leader in Saturday’s Qualifying. Chronologically speaking, Doohan is earning the seat. Does this mean that Colapinto will be ‘lent’ to Red Bull/Racing Bulls? Not necessarily, but in such a surreal situation, nothing can be excluded. Colapinto wants to race, and Alpine and advisor Flavio Briatore would only gain from a potential loan, as the Argentine wouldn’t remain ‘inactive’. Everything revolves around the decisions that Red Bull’s management will make, as they find themselves in an unenviable situation. As much as Liam Lawson’s start to the season may have been lacking, the responsibility for such an extreme situation falls squarely on Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, who, despite Max Verstappen’s success, have failed to create a conducive environment for the unlucky teammates of the Dutch driver.