Vowles adamant: 'Albon cannot go to Mercedes or Red Bull in 2025'
Alexander Albon does not seem likely to make the switch to Red Bull Racing or Mercedes any time soon. His current team boss at Williams, James Vowles, is very clear about the Thai's contract.
With the departure of Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, Silly Season for the 2025 F1 season has started early. Albon made a good impression in 2023 and is, therefore, in good standing with many teams. In fact, according to Peter Windsor, Albon already has a deal with Red Bull Racing for 2025, but that is disproved following Vowles comments in a press interview with GPblog.com and others.
Why Albon cannot go to Red Bull
Vowles argues that Albon has a contract at Williams until 2025. Therefore, Albon can't leave at the end of 2024. Vowles, therefore, dismisses the rumours suggested by Windsor.
Albon is keeping his cards closer to his chest. "Let's see. Time will tell," said Albon when asked if he could go to Mercedes or Red Bull in 2025. "But my focus is on 2024. Let's keep it like that. The real focus is on making sure that we make progress for 2025. That's really where I'm at. I realistically want to be with the team. If the team are where I want them to be, it will be a long-term contract. We're going to go all the way or nothing.That's my idea with it."
"More than anything, I want that team to be Williams. That's where I put all my work and all my efforts into. It's very clear to me, especially when you see the drivers market, there's a huge interest in teams wanting the same driver for 2025 and 2026. That's how it looks like it's playing out. Let's see about that," the Williams driver concluded without really addressing the question about his contract.