Franco Colapinto admits he has "no idea" whether he's becoming a favourite to secure a place at Audi-owned Sauber and keep his fresh Formula 1 career alive for 2025.
While Nico Hulkenberg has already been signed by the Swiss-German team, current Sauber drivers Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou appear to be feeling uneasy about their spots on next year's grid.
"Not really," Bottas said in Singapore when asked if he has any information about when Audi's new F1 chief, Mattia Binotto, will make a decision. "I can't really share much."
As for Zhou, the Chinese driver seems to be preparing to take his sponsorship elsewhere next year, almost certainly stepping into a reserve driver role.
"If I have to wait (for a comeback)," he said, "it will be a very short, limited time. I don't want to be a third driver in Formula 1 for the rest of my life."
Audi initially seemed interested in fielding an experienced duo for 2025, but with Colapinto performing so well at Williams and Sauber also showing interest in Gabriel Bortoleto—an F1 driver with links to Fernando Alonso—there might be renewed interest in young rookies.
"Yeah, I'm impressed," said three-time world champion Max Verstappen when asked about Colapinto's recent standout performances and the even younger Haas driver for 2025, Oliver Bearman.
"They're doing a good job when they jump in," said Verstappen. "You can see they're well prepared, and they're just doing a great job. It's nice to see that from rookies."
"Hopefully it opens it up a bit more for future talent to come into the sport."
While McLaren seems open to loaning the 19-year-old Bortoleto to Audi next year, Williams boss James Vowles has said he would be open to a similar deal for Colapinto.
The Argentine driver will be forced to give up his temporary seat at Williams to make room for Carlos Sainz at the end of the year, but Colapinto confirmed that his management team is in discussions with Sauber.
"I have no idea what's going to happen in 2025," Colapinto admitted. "It's not in my head right now and that's why I have representatives who are working on what I will do in 2025. At the moment I am enjoying every second because I have no idea how long this is going to last." body check tags ::
