F1 team moves to block Red Bull raid for ‘very underrated’ Sergio Perez replacement

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Williams are moving to block Red Bull from signing Alex Albon to replace Serio Perez by offering the London-born Thai a new, long-term contract with the Formula 1 team.

The 27-year-old is hot property on the driver market after a fantastic campaign for Williams in 2023. Albon led the Grove squad to their best finish in the constructors’ championship of P7 since their P5 in 2017. He registered 27 of their 28 points next to rookie, Logan Sargeant.

Now, Williams team principal James Vowles has sought to clarify that Albon has a contract in Grove through 2025. It was previously believed that his terms expired after the 2024 season. Red Bull, particularly, admired a chance to re-sign Albon with Perez set to be out of contract.

Williams move to block Red Bull from re-signing Alex Albon

Respected F1 journalist Peter Windsor claimed last week that Red Bull have offered Albon a three-year contract to replace Perez. The former Williams team manager further suggested that he is 90% sure Albon would accept a chance to return to Milton Keynes from next year.

But Lawrence Barretto now reports that Williams are also trying to tie Albon up beyond his existing contract through 2025. Three rival teams, at least, are monitoring his performances in view of a future move. But Grove chiefs want Albon to stay at the team for the long-term.

Williams hope to follow Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari by tying Albon up with a fresh, long-term deal. Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc all have long-term deals with those teams. And Williams feel Albon can accelerate their return to the front of the F1 grid.

James Vowles thinks Alex Albon produces ‘drives of a champion’

Barretto adds that Albon is ‘very pragmatic’ about his situation and will likely wait to see if Williams continue their revival in 2024 before signing a new contract. The Grove outfit also know they must show the 27-year-old that 2023’s gains were not a one-and-done triumph.

Albon was instrumental to Williams enjoying their best season since 2017 last year. His P13 in the drivers’ standings ensured the team shot up to P7 in the constructors’ championship. He also extracted everything from their FW45 to finish seventh at the Canadian and Italian GPs.

Team principal Vowles admired his masterpiece in Montreal, in particular. Albon used their strong straight-line speed to keep a train of cars including Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas and Norris behind. Albon produced a similar triumph to thwart Norris again at the Monza event.

“There’s no ego,” Vowles said on Beyond The Grid. “I called him yesterday to explain to him that was a drive of champions. I’ve worked with a good number of them, and it really was.

“He didn’t put a foot wrong at the point where he’s under pressure from four incredibly fast-charging cars behind on tyres that were in a much better state than his. Some of the work he was doing on repositioning his car, on the exit of ten and a few other corners, was very clever. And he recognizes that.

“He’s, obviously, not someone that’s going to go in and boast about it to the world. But for me, that was a drive of champion. He’s definitely bringing the car to the limit of his performance, which is what you’re looking for out of a driver. I think he’s very underrated and I’m incredibly happy that he’s here within our organisation today.”