Martin Brundle feels 27-y/o F1 ace ‘will be thinking’ of leaving team after 2024

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Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle feels Alex Albon may consider quitting Williams after the 2024 season, having merited interest from Red Bull and Mercedes for 2025.

The Milton Keynes and Brackley outfits could be on the hunt for new drivers next year. Lewis Hamilton has forced Mercedes to explore the driver market after signing a multi-year deal to join Ferrari next season. While Sergio Perez is now in the last year of his contract at Red Bull.

Either squad would have to buy Albon out of his contract with Williams, should Mercedes or Red Bull want him. Team principal James Vowles has moved to clarify that Albon is locked in at Grove through 2025. It was previously believed that his deal ended after the 2024 season.

Red Bull and Mercedes are interested in Williams racer Alex Albon

A belief that Albon could leave Williams after 2024 saw Peter Windsor suggest that Red Bull offered Albon a three-year contract to replace Perez. While Motorsport.com also suggested that the Milton Keynes natives offered the London-born Thai a first option to switch in 2026.

Red Bull swooped to head the queue of suitors for Albon with Mercedes showing an interest in his signature, too. It would mark a return to their team for the Red Bull driver programme product. He raced alongside Max Verstappen from the middle of 2019 and throughout 2020.

Martin Brundle feels Alex Albon may consider his future after 2024

Perez took Albon’s seat at Red Bull in 2021 and left the 27-year-old without a seat on the F1 grid. But a move to Williams in 2022 has helped Albon to relaunch his Grand Prix career. He also claimed 27 of their 28 points last season beside American rookie driver Logan Sargeant.

Albon excelled at the Canadian GP and Italian GP in 2023 to claim P7 finishes by maximising the FW45’s straight-line speed strength to defend from faster cars. But Brundle feels Albon will consider his continued presence in Grove unless Williams make big gains with the FW46.

“If Williams don’t take a massive step forward, I would say that Alex Albon will be thinking ‘I’ve got to get in a works team’, whatever his contractual situation is,” Brundle outlined to Sky Sports. “Logan Sargeant is probably fighting for a seat.”