Williams in no rush to decide 2022 driver line-up due to "wider options"

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Williams in no rush to decide 2022 line-up due to "wider options"

Alex Albon and Nyck de Vries linked to Russell seat

Ian Parkes & Will Gray

Monday 6 September 2021 18:45

Williams CEO Jost Capito is refusing to be rushed into deciding his team’s driver line-up for next year despite pressure from Red Bull and Mercedes to commit to either Alex Albon or Nyck de Vries in the coming days.

George Russell’s future has now been decided, and is expected to be confirmed on Tuesday, with the Briton joining Mercedes to replace Valtteri Bottas who is joining Alfa Romeo, leaving a seat available at the back-of-the-grid team.

Christian Horner has said Williams is in discussions to run Red Bull reserve driver Albon, who raced for Red Bull last year, while Mercedes is keen to find a place for Formula E champion de Vries.

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Capito said: “As I have always mentioned, we have no time pressure at all in sorting out our drivers, so I think some others have higher pressure to sort out drivers than we have.

“There has not been an announcement with George, so we will see what our options will be in the future. We have some options and we are sorting them out.

“We go for what is in our interests, what we believe is the best for us, what we believe is the best solution, try to get this solution and then go from there. But in the moment we have more options and none of them is a bad option.”

Williams not insistent on F1 experience

Capito has previously said Williams is not beholden to external pressures on its driver line-up, despite being a customer of Mercedes, but Horner claimed on Friday that the engine supplier is trying to interfere with the decision.

Capito revealed there are more than just the two heavily linked drivers in the frame and said the new regulations for 2022 - which will create radically different cars - mean F1 experience is less vital for next season.

“There are others as well, others with Formula 1 experience and others who are young drivers who push hard to get into Formula 1," said Capito. "It is not just those two, there are much wider options.

“Having a driver with Formula 1 experience is never negative, it is always positive, but for next year, as the cars are new, and everybody has to learn to drive these new cars, you can also bring a newcomer in because then the gap is the smallest.

“It’s like driving in a different category a bit, so it is also an ideal point to bring, let’s say, somebody new into Formula 1. We will see what it turns out, we will see what the interests are and I think we have various good options."