Toto Wolff "wrong" to influence Williams' Albon decision - Ferrari

Ferrari - Mercedes

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Wolff "wrong" to influence Williams' Albon decision - Ferrari

Wolff has stated Albon must cut ties with Red Bull if he is to join the Mercedes-powered team

Ian Parkes & Sam Hall

Tuesday 7 September 2021 05:00

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto has claimed Toto Wolff is "wrong" to insist Alex Albon must cut his ties with Red Bull in order to land a seat with Williams.

After losing his F1 drive to Sergio Perez last year, Albon has been heavily linked to Williams, who will have a seat available with George Russell due to be announced as a Mercedes driver on Tuesday.

At the Dutch Grand Prix, Wolff insisted Albon must end his relationship with title rivals Red Bull before the manufacturer would agree to him joining Mercedes-powered Williams.

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Despite placing Ferrari academy drivers Mick Schumacher and Antonio Giovinazzi at customer teams in recent years, Binotto suggested Wolff cannot make such demands.

“I believe that whatever is happening between a team and a driver, that should be between the team and the driver and as a manufacturer, we should not influence," said Binotto. "I think that would be wrong.

“So I think that if a driver got an opportunity to drive, he should simply have the opportunity to drive wherever he is coming from.

"If the team is happy to give him a seat, give him a seat. That is it.”

On Ferrari's positioning of its young talent with customer teams, a practice that is far from exclusive to the Scuderia, Binotto explained: “Ferrari has never a word on the Ferrari seat at Alfa Romeo.

"It was a contract between Alfa Romeo, so it was the right of the sponsor of Alfa Romeo on the Sauber car.

“So as Ferrari certainly we do not have…Alfa at the time was very happy and keen to have Antonio [Giovinazzi] driving for Sauber."