Franco Colapinto’s hopes of staying in Formula 1 for 2025 now appear to rest solely with Red Bull and Williams boss James Vowles.
The Argentine has stunned the paddock with his meteoric debut and likeable personality since replacing the ousted Logan Sargeant mid-season.
However, his seat will be taken by Carlos Sainz next year.
"He is warming up the seat well," Sainz, the Mexican GP winner in his Ferrari, laughed.
"Seriously, I think Franco is having some spectacular first races - he is doing a great job in Formula 1. I think that you can’t ask for more than what he has done, so congratulations and keep going."
The 21-year-old Colapinto, though, admits that at the moment, he has "nothing" lined up for 2025 except the fallback option of the Williams reserve seat.
It is believed Audi-Sauber has now ruled out Colapinto for 2025. And despite Vowles’ efforts to loan the rookie to Red Bull’s junior team RB, Dr Helmut Marko insisted in Mexico that "We are not going to train anyone for another team."
Therefore, if Colapinto and RB get together for 2025, it would require him to be released or bought out of his Williams contract.
Interestingly, Williams boss Vowles entered the Mexico GP circuit on Sunday with his Red Bull Racing counterpart Christian Horner.
"It is normal for teams to talk to drivers, and we will see how that develops," Vowles said when asked about the Colapinto-to-RB rumours.
"But as you can imagine, I can’t say anything publicly when I’m in a sensitive negotiation."
Colapinto’s saving grace could be Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, who admitted on Sunday that Telmex may need to depart Red Bull Racing due to clashes with rival telco AT+T.
Might Telmex pay to buy out Colapinto’s Williams contract and seek refuge at RB?
"If we have a chance to do something with Franco, it would be separate from Checo," said Slim, referring to Sergio Perez. "We have seen it in the past, when we sponsored several drivers, like with Bruno Senna and Pietro Fittipaldi, and when we had two Mexican drivers, like with Checo and Esteban (Gutierrez).
"We will always support the Latin American drivers. Franco has done very well, but our main project has always been to support the Mexican drivers, and Checo is without a doubt the one who represents us all," he added.