Christian Horner appears to have ruled out Franco Colapinto racing for either Red Bull team in the 2025 F1 season.
Following the Qatar Grand Prix, the Red Bull team principal said he is sure the Argentine will "find his way onto the grid in the future", before emphasising the "strength and depth" of his squad's young driver programme.
Colapinto has been heavily linked with a switch to the Red Bull family, with his stint at Williams pre-determined to be fixed-term on account of Carlos Sainz joining after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The 21-year-old impressed early in his F1 tenure, replacing Logan Sargeant for the final nine rounds of the campaign.
However, Colapinto is in the midst of a tough, error-strewn spell, resulting in crashes in recent rounds.
As a result, Red Bull's interest in him has cooled significantly, to the point he is no longer considered an option in the short term.
"He [Franco Colapinto], for sure, is a talent that's looking to earn his permanent place in Formula 1," Horner told media including RacingNews365 when asked about the Williams driver and his recent blip in form.
The 50-year-old then all but ruled out Colapinto securing a full-time seat with Red Bull or RB for next year.
"We have a great pool of talent within the Red Bull junior team," he added. "I'm sure Franco will find his way onto the grid in the future."
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'Strength and depth' in Red Bull 'stable'
Colapinto's chance at Red Bull was, and has always been, contingent upon the form of Sergio Perez.
With Liam Lawson replacing Daniel Ricciardo following the Singapore Grand Prix and quickly staking his claim on a 2025 drive, any case the Argentine had for a seat was predicated on the continued poor performances of Perez.
Whilst the 34-year-old's torrid run of results has continued, to the extent he is now looking all but certain to lose his seat following the season finale, Red Bull seems more keen on promoting from within this time around.
Current reserve driver Isack Hadjar is just half a point off Gabriel Bortoleto at the top of the F2 driver standings with only one round to run.
"You're always keeping your eye on what the market is in all teams," Horner pointed out. "But we have the strength and depth in the junior programme.
"[It] was good to see Isack doing a good job in Formula 2 as well. I think there's what, half a point between drivers going into the final race in Abu Dhabi."
The Red Bull team principal then addressed RB's current drivers, one of which is likely to be Perez's replacement if the Milton Keynes outfit does pull the plug.
Horner said: "Liam and Yuki [Tsunoda], very closely matched in that race [the Qatar Grand Prix] in terms of pace. So, we've got a full stable of drivers."
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