After Red Bull demoted Pierre Gasly to Toro Rosso, currently AlphaTauri, Alex Albon got the chance to partner with Max Verstappen. Following this swap, there were ample expectations from the Thai driver. However, his stint with the Austrian team ended sooner than expected as Christian Horner and Co. decided to bring in Sergio Perez in 2021. Albon went without a seat that year and then joined Williams in 2022. Now, coming into 2023, George Russell, who was Albon’s predecessor at Williams, jokingly advised Albon to try his luck with Mercedes.
Albon, Russell, and Lando Norris all reunited a few months back in a video uploaded by Formula 1. There, the trio talked about everything on and off the sport. Amid this, Russell, who drives for the Silver Arrows asked Albon to reach the Mercedes team principal for a seat.
Lining up P5 & locking out the third row!! let’s gooo @LoganSargeant pic.twitter.com/vTUTeuAfZg
— Alex Albon (@alex_albon) November 18, 2023
This took place when the current Williams driver took his turn to sign apparel. As he took on a cap and asked whom to give, Russell replied to give it to Toto Wolff, his team boss. He said, “Give it to Toto, I’m free in 2025.” This indeed was a joke as there will be no seat available in Mercedes in 2025, as things stand.
Both Lewis Hamilton and Russell signed their contract extension with the Brackley-based team till the end of 2025. On the other hand, Albon has his contract with Williams till the end of 2024 and it will be interesting to see if the two parties decide to extend it.
How did Alex Albon compare against Lando Norris and George Russell?
Alex Albon, George Russell, and Lando Norris all started their motorsport career almost at the same time and reached the pinnacle of motorsport one after another. However, Albon’s F1 career saw more hardships than the British duo.
Norris began his racing career with McLaren back in 2019 and he has been with the team ever since. As for Russell, he began his F1 journey with Williams and moved to Mercedes in 2022. However, things were not so easy for Albon.
P7 in the Constructors!! Huge well done to all the men and women @WilliamsRacing on an amazing job this year. Time to rest before we come back fighting for bigger and better in 2024, hungrier than ever pic.twitter.com/vM4eWi1LzN
— Alex Albon (@alex_albon) November 26, 2023
The Thai driver started his F1 career with Toro Rosso and soon was given the Red Bull chance mid-season. However, he struggled significantly against the mighty Verstappen. After having one and a half seasons of underperformance with Red Bull, Albon was eventually replaced in 2021.
Nevertheless, Alex Albon returned with his Williams chance after Nicholas Latifi’s departure. The 2023 F1 season was Albon’s second year with the British team where he lauded himself for his qualification performances. He has also impressed the F1 experts and bosses with his scintillating performances where he claimed 27 points driving the Williams FW45.
