Alex Albon has beaten Nyck de Vries to the Williams seat and will replace George Russell for next season, and potentially beyond.
George Russell’s seemingly obvious move to Mercedes has spurred a merry-go-round in the driver market for 2022. With Valtteri Bottas’ set to move to Alfa Romeo to replace the retiring Kimi Raikkonen, the focus is now on the Williams seat to be vacated by Russell.
Red Bull and Mercedes both have a contender for it – Alex Albon and Nyck de Vries, respectively. While Albon is a reserve driver with Red Bull, de Vries is the reigning Formula E champion with Mercedes.
And, as per Ziggo Sport, Albon to Williams is a done deal, with a seat fit already completed. This would essentially mean de Vries will defend his title in Formula E in 2022 in what is Mercedes’ final season in the category.
Uit betrouwbare bron is vernomen dat Alexander Albon inmiddels zijn stoeltje bij Williams heeft gepast en dus volgend jaar terugkeert op de F1-grid
Een goede keus van Williams? #ZiggoSportF1 #F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/xvzzwFcN1P
— Ziggo Sport F1 (@ZiggoSportF1) September 4, 2021
Christian Horner pushing for Albon’s Williams move
Considering Williams is a Mercedes partner team, it was expected a junior from the latter would get preference. But that doesn’t seem to be the case, and Christian Horner is hoping Mercedes don’t ambush this move.
“I hope that nothing prevents him from realizing one of those opportunities. He’s a talented driver. Subject to George moving, now Kimi [Raikkonen] is retiring, that does open up opportunities. So I’m sure that will get resolved over the next week or so.”
