Williams reportedly will not accept less than €20 million for Franco Colapinto, with Red Bull showing interest for the F1 2025 season.
Colapinto has impressed since replacing Logan Sargeant ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, scoring points in just his second F1 appearance at the challenging Baku street circuit in Azerbaijan.
The Argentine followed that up with an impressive 10th-place finish at last month's United States Grand Prix, with Colapinto winning many admirers since his unexpected debut.
With Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon already signed to race for the team in F1 2025, Williams team principal James Vowles has signalled a willingness to allow Colapinto to pursue opportunities with other teams for next season in order to advance his career.
And Red Bull have emerged as one of the interested parties, with Alpine also reportedly keeping tabs on the 21-year-old.
Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, was spotted leaving Williams' hospitality unit ahead of practice at last weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix in Interlagos.
PlanetF1.com understands that Horner met with Vowles to discuss a deal for Colapinto, with negotiations underway but a deal far from completion at this stage.
It is unclear whether Red Bull plan to place Colapinto with junior team VCARB if negotiations prove successful, with some suggestions that he could even step up to replace Sergio Perez as three-time World Champion Max Verstappen's team-mate at Red Bull Racing as soon as F1 2025.
Despite signing a new two-year contract in June, Perez is increasingly likely to be dropped by Red Bull for F1 2025 after a disastrous season, with the Mexican trailing Verstappen by 242 points with three races remaining.
Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko has confirmed that a decision on Perez's future will be made at the end of F1 2024.
Marko recently voiced concerns that Colapinto's long-term contract with Williams could prove a major obstacle to the team signing the youngster for next season.
And a report by Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport has shed light on Williams' demands to release Colapinto from his contract, with the Grove-based outfit reportedly demanding a €20m fee.
Horner dropped the biggest hint yet that Red Bull are interested in signing Colapinto in Brazil last weekend, likening his impact at Williams to that of fellow young guns Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman at VCARB and Haas respectively.
Asked about a potential move for Colapinto after the sprint race at Interlagos, he said: "I think it's great to see these juniors doing a great job.
"We've got Liam Lawson obviously in the VCARB doing a really good job. Oliver Bearman should get a shoutout today because he was impressive.
"I think Franco, again, is a kid that's doing really, really well.
"Of course, you're always keeping an eye on the driver market and I think Franco definitely has got the qualities to be a potential star of the future."
Horner's comments came after Vowles hinted that Colapinto's future is likely to be decided ahead of next month's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Appearing in the team principals' press conference in Sao Paulo, he said: "The best I can really tell you is we're actively working with teams that are interested to try and find the right arrangement that helps Franco, that protects Franco as well and protects all parties.
"So it's very much in those lines. It's the same concept behind it.
"It's never straightforward between Formula 1 teams, because you're fighting on track and you're trying to find a solution for the career of a young man, but he's earning his place.
"He needs to do more on track to keep earning his place as a result of things, but he's shining and that's why there's interest from teams and our responsibility in that, as I have a responsibility both towards him and Williams, and hopefully, we'll have some great news to be able to talk to everyone about. But today, that isn't available.
"These sorts of things are always hard to do because you're talking about multiple teams talking together.
"But it'll be something that I'm confident before the last race of the season we'll have nailed.
"But it's really hard for me to pinpoint where in between those two timelines."
