Alex Albon’s meetings with Red Bull owners could make him a contender to replace Max Verstappen

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Alex Albon’s ties to Red Bull’s ownership mean he should not be discounted if they need a replacement for Max Verstappen. That’s according to The Race’s Scott Mitchell-Malm.

Verstappen is considering retirement after the regulation changes sapped his enthusiasm. Red Bull are still optimistic that he will be driving for them next year, but are likely to be making contingency plans.

Albon made his F1 debut for Toro Rosso (now Racing Bulls) in 2019 and was promoted to the top team just halfway through his rookie year. He lasted 18 months before losing the seat to Sergio Perez, then returned to the grid with Williams in 2022.

Alex Albon has a ‘very good relationship’ with Red Bull owners

Williams finished an excellent fifth in the championship last season, but have regressed at the start of the rules cycle. They are ninth after three races with just two points and one Q2 appearance on the board.

Mitchell-Malm suspects that Albon has ‘unfinished business’ at Red Bull and thinks his links to the Yoovidhya family, who own around half of the team’s shares, could open the door.

There is a school of thought that Verstappen could stay within the Red Bull family, potentially as an ambassador, during a sabbatical from F1. It may be that the team only need a stopgap solution.

Much as he wouldn’t see it that way himself, 130-race veteran Albon could fit that bill perfectly.

Can Red Bull attract great drivers to their team if Max Verstappen leaves?

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“I have Alex Albon as the outside pick if you don’t go from within,” said Mitchell-Malm. “There might well be a push factor away from Williams. There’ll be a pull factor in terms of Red Bull being a step-up in the short term, more potential as well.

“Personally, there’s a strong link with the Thai side of the Red Bull ownership. I believe that Albon still semi-regularly meets with the Yoovidhya family and has a very good relationship there.

“He will see himself as having unfinished business there. He would fit in terms of what driver Red Bull would need right now.

“I am wedded to this idea that, if Verstappen leaves, he comes back. If you think you’re going to get Max back in a year’s time, you don’t sign someone mega on a multi-year deal. You sign someone who you’ve got the option of basically fobbing off again, or moving around as you see fit.

“It would be a gamble for Albon, but if you’re seeing it as a project that’s still two to three years away from getting back to full strength, I don’t think you want to be paying £30m, £40m for a megastar driver that’s going to make the difference between whether you finish ninth or seventh.”

Arvid Lindblad is the most likely signing for Red Bull

Red Bull tend to promote from within, but Liam Lawson only lasted two races the last time he stepped up to the sister team. Arvid Lindblad’s F1 career started just last month.

Still, Mitchell-Malm thinks Lindblad will be the favourite for the seat if he continues his early trajectory. He finished an outstanding P8 on his debut and has already reached Q3 twice.

That would make Isack Hadjar the senior presence in the garage in what would be just his third season.

“My gut feeling would be [that they] promote from within,” said Mitchell-Malm. “Then I think you’d go Lindblad over Lawson, because you’ve done the Lawson experiment, even if the people that did the Lawson experiment aren’t there.

“If Lindblad’s trajectory over the first half of the year continues to be encouraging, I can see a Hadjar/Lindblad combination there in 2027.”