Franco Colapinto's F1 negotiations saw missed opportunities with Red Bull but led to a promising reserve driver role at Alpine.

Franco Colapinto’s manager Maria Catarineu says it “didn’t work out” with Red Bull who were interested in signing the Argentinean as Max Verstappen’s F1 2025 team-mate. Colapinto arrived on the Formula 1 grid last year as an unknown,

Franco Colapinto 's manager has shed light on her negotiations with Alpine and a “persistent” Flavio Briatore following the Argentine’s team move ahead of the 2025 F1 season. Last week, Colapinto was announced as Alpine’s reserve and test driver for the upcoming campaign.

According to Catarineu, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner expressed genuine interest in Colapinto's potential, considering him either as a teammate for Max Verstappen or for the secondary Red Bull team.

Franco Colapinto has recently signed with Alpine, where he hopes to return to F1 as a full-time driver at some point of the season. Still, it could have turned out differently, as Red Bull were also interested in the Argentinian driver.

Speaking to Infobae, Colapinto’s manager, Maria Catarineu, said: “Clearly Christian showed an interest in Franco, which could be on the Red Bull side as Max’s teammate or on the Red Bull second team side; and like others, because there have been more.