F1 News
Red Bull: 'We maintain a relationship with Albon that includes future options'
- GPblog.com
Williams announced its driver line-up for 2022 on Wednesday. Nicholas Latifi will stay on for another year and Alexander Albon will replace George Russell, who is leaving for Mercedes. Albon is currently a Red Bull driver, but the team has released him to race for Williams.
Future options
F1-journalist Lawrence Barretto revealed on Twitter that he has been asked many questions about whether Albon will still be a Red Bull driver next year and only on loan to Williams. Barretto enquired with Red Bull, who let it be known that Albon no longer belongs to Red Bull in 2022. "We have released Alex to become a Williams Racing driver in 2022, but retain a relationship with him that includes future options," the spokesman reveals.
Many asking if Alex Albon is still a Red Bull driver. Red Bull team spokesperson tells me "We have released Alex to become a Williams Racing driver in 2022 but retain a relationship with him that includes future options." #F1 #Albon #RedBullRacing
— Lawrence Barretto (@lawrobarretto) September 8, 2021
So it could just be that Albon will be recalled by Red Bull in 2023, should the need arise. F1 journalist Will Buxton explains it well on Twitter. "There is an important point here that Alex Albon has been sacked from Red Bull for 2022. He's a Williams driver. Not a Red Bull driver. Red Bull still has the option to recall him in the future, as long as all parties agree. But for 2022, he will not be with Red Bull."
New chance for Albon
Earlier today, team boss Jost Capito was still quite vague about the possible contractual construction between Albon and Williams, and Red Bull's possible role in it. "All I can tell you is that he is a Williams driver for 2022. What that means is up to you. Maybe you should ask Red Bull. But for us he is a Williams driver and that's it, " Capito said in an interview.
So it looks like Albon has a similar transition as Esteban Ocon did at the time to Renault while a Mercedes driver. For Albon, at least, it's a fresh start in Formula One. In his debut season in 2019, he started at Toro Rosso, but was promoted to move to Red Bull Racing halfway through the season where he stayed for 2020 as well. However, he couldn't really convince alongside Max Verstappen and so he had to make way for Sergio Perez for this season.