The announcement that seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton will move to Ferrari in 2025 may trigger one of the most interesting silly seasons this year. The Briton’s move to the Prancing Horse will leave a spot open at Mercedes in 2025. In the past few days, several fans have speculated about various drivers who can replace Hamilton. As fans continue with their speculations, Alex Albon’s camp are allegedly making a smart “ploy” to gain Mercedes’ attention. According to Planet F1’s Thomas Maher, Albon’s camp have deliberately been spreading rumors about Red Bull’s interest in their driver, with the hope that Mercedes shows an interest in signing the Thai racer.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Maher posted that Red Bull have no interest in signing Albon. In fact, Maher has suggested that it is Albon’s camp who have been spreading these false rumors “to gain Mercedes’ attention“.
Red Bull aren’t currently making a play for Alex Albon, contrary to rumours swirling atm.
Interestingly, a source has suggested the news could be a play from Albon’s camp to gain Mercedes attention. #F1
— Thomas Maher (@thomasmaheronf1) February 3, 2024
Albon could indeed be a great replacement choice for Mercedes, who are unlikely to have many options. The 27-year-old is into the last year of his contract with Williams and had an outstanding season last year. He finished 13th in the championship and scored 27 out of the 28 points for the team to help them finish a fantastic seventh.
Will Alex Albon be the next big target in the F1 driver market?
In his previous interviews, Alex Albon has made his desire abundantly clear of wanting to fight for wins and possibly also the championship. Since Williams are not yet in a position to do so, the 27-year-old could be tempted to move to another team with higher ambitions in the near term.
Among the big four teams – Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren – two of them already seem to have their line-ups sorted going into 2025. With the signing of Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari have him and Charles Leclerc. Meanwhile, McLaren have Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
The other two teams have still not confirmed their line-ups for 2025. While there is a confirmed vacant spot open at Mercedes with Hamilton leaving, Red Bull could also look for a replacement option with Sergio Perez’s contract expiring at the end of the 2024 campaign.
Hence, although Albon’s camp may have spread the rumors to gain Mercedes’ attention, the Milton Keynes outfit could perhaps approach the Thai driver again and offer him a deal. In case Albon persists that a return to Red Bull is not on the cards for him, he too is unlikely to have many opportunities going into 2025.
