Top F1 pundit earmarks EMERGING star for huge move to rival team

Alex Albon smiles in Williams uniform — Photo: © IMAGO

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Top F1 pundit earmarks EMERGING star for huge move to rival team

The driver has been catching the attention of some top teams on the grid

Tyler Rowlinson

Sunday 4 February 2024 15:17

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Formula 1 journalist Lawrence Barretto has backed Williams star Alex Albon for a big move in the future.

The British-born Thai driver has put in some consistent performances for the Grove-based squad as their number one driver since joining in 2022 – and was key in leading the team to a seventh-place finish in the constructors’ standings last year.

Albon has been linked with some of the top guns on the grid, with journalist Peter Windsor making a strange claim that he has been offered a three-year deal at Red Bull to replace Sergio Perez from 2025.

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The 27-year-old had previously driven for the world champions in the second half of 2019 after being called up from Toro Rosso and then for a full campaign in 2020, before being ousted from the team in favour of the Mexican.

Ferrari were another team reportedly interested in the Thai driver, but with Charles Leclerc recently signing a new long-term contract and Lewis Hamilton’s shock move to the Italian team for 2025 on a multi-year deal, that option now seems unlikely anytime soon.

Alex Albon has been the star man at Williams since joining in 2022

It is claimed that the Thai driver has been offered an unlikely return to Red Bull

Albon was also being linked with Ferrari

Barretto backs Albon for huge move

With Hamilton’s departure, Albon’s name has been mentioned in the running for the vacant Mercedes seat to partner close friend George Russell.

13 drivers are out of contract at the end of the 2024 season, including Albon, and F1 pundit Barretto believes that he is the ‘biggest key’ to the driver market and will be on the move in the future.

Speaking on the official F1 website, he said: “Running [Carlos] Sainz close for the accolade of biggest key to the driver market is Alex Albon. Williams naturally want to keep the Thai racer, who single-handedly guided the team to seventh in the constructors’ last year.

“Albon and his team are believed to have been involved in talks with at least half of the grid about a move in the future, with two teams – Alpine and Haas – having been keen on his services for 2023.

“Should Albon deliver strongly in the opening half of the season, and if Sainz hasn’t yet signed a deal with Ferrari or made a move elsewhere, the two of them will be the biggest talking points in the driver market.”