“We will be following his progress closely” – Christian Horner has defied the Mercedes boss Toto Wolff by keeping Alex Albon in the Red Bull family.
There is still a long way to go before we find out who will prevail between Mercedes and Red Bull on the track this season, but off the track, Red Bull has won a crucial battle.
The battle revolves around Alex Albon, and Mercedes’ demands of releasing him from Red Bull after his move to Williams.
Well, the move has been sealed, but Red Bull can still count Albon as part of their family.
Thank you @redbullracing 🙌 https://t.co/okG3nEGqr6
— Alex Albon (@alex_albon) September 8, 2021
In a statement released by Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, the team has confirmed the presence of a “future options” clause. This is crucial for Red Bull as Albon is a potential driver for sister team AlphaTauri in the future if Yuki Tsunoda is shown the door, or Pierre Gasly moves elsewhere.
Alex Albon remains a part of Red Bull
“We have released Alex to become a Williams Racing driver in 2022 but retain a relationship with him that includes future options.
“We rate Alex very highly and with our line-up for 2022 fixed, our objective was to help find him a seat in another team where he could gain more F1 mileage and experience and we are delighted to have done that with Williams Racing.
“Alex has been a hugely valuable asset in his role as our Test & Reserve Driver this year, helping bring performance from the simulator to the car each weekend, but for his career it was important not to spend another season out of an F1 race seat.
“With his place on the grid next year secured, we are delighted to see him realise this opportunity and we will be following his progress closely.”
