Alex Albon arguably surprised the entire F1 paddock when it was announced that he had signed a long-term contract extension with Williams. Speaking about this latest driver market news, former McLaren mechanic, Marc Priestley has speculated Adrian Newey’s involvement in making this deal happen.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Priestley said, “What about if the same conversations that James Vowles has had with Alex Albon, he’s had with Adrian Newey? What if Adrian Newey was part of the conversation that James Vowles has had with Alex Albon and that’s part of the reason why Alex Albon has seen fit to commit his long-term future to this team?”
Reports in the paddock have been picking up recently linking Newey to his old team, Williams. Team Principal, James Vowles has himself revealed that he has had a chat with the 65-year-old after it was announced that he was leaving Red Bull in 2025.
Albon‘s contract extension comes at a time when F1 is about to introduce an engine-specific regulation reset from 2026 onwards.
While the British-Thai driver would have considered Mercedes’ (Williams’ engine suppliers) chances of acing the engine regulations, the iconic British team is indeed lacking in the chassis department.
This makes Newey’s allure even more appealing. The British engineer is regarded as one of the greatest F1 designers of all time. He’s headed Red Bull’s dominance in the ground-effects era of the sport and boasts a staggering amount of knowledge about the current chassis regulations.
Can Adrian Newey make a shock comeback to Williams?
Newey would be the perfect catalyst Williams requires in their bid to climb back up the F1 grid. And the 65-year-old is no stranger to the Grove-based team where he crafted his legacy alongside behemoths of the sport like Frank Williams and Patrick Head.
Newey joined Williams from Leyton House at the start of the 1991 F1 season. In 1992, Nigel Mansell won the driver’s title in Newey’s FW14 and the team won the Constructors’ title, too.
1993 saw another dominant year for Williams as the Newey-designed FW15C saw Alain Prost win his fourth and final driver’s title and Williams beat McLaren to the Constructors’ crown.
1994 was a tragic year for the team as the sport lost Ayrton Senna at the San Marino Grand Prix. But the team did win the Constructors’ title that year, making it a hattrick of wins. Newey got Williams back to winning ways in 1996, as the FW18 won the driver’s (Damon Hill) and Constructors’ championships.
1997 would prove the same with Jacques Villeneuve winning his first and only title. Newey would leave the team at the end of the 1997 season giving Williams their sixth Constructors’ title under his reign.
The modern-day Williams could lure the Briton, though. It would be a rebuild project that would not only see him take on a team that has a special part in his heart but also solidify his legacy as the GOAT of F1 car design if he leads Williams back to glory.
