Red Bull believed to have made ‘attractive offer’ to ‘blistering’ F1 driver for 2026

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Red Bull have made an offer to a ‘blistering’ driver for the 2026 season, journalist Joe Saward says.

The Bulls may be the reigning champions, but the future of both Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen is uncertain.

And Saward, writing on his personal website after the Australian Grand Prix, says Christian Horner has already offered another driver a seat for 2026.

Perez is in the final year of his contract with the team after joining from Racing Point in 2021.

He finished second in the world championship behind Verstappen last year but the margin between the two was a record 290 points.

The Mexican was far closer to losing the runner-up spot to Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton (51 points).

While Verstappen has qualified on pole for each of the first three races, Perez is yet to make the front row.

He recovered to second in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia but could only manage fifth in Australia after Verstappen retired, albeit hampered by a visor tear-off lodged in his floor.

Meanwhile, there are reports that the Dutchman is ‘increasingly likely’ to join rivals Mercedes.

Verstappen has won the last three titles with the Milton Keynes team but knows there will be a major change to the regulations for 2026.

Joe Saward says Alex Albon has Red Bull offer

The belief in the paddock, according to Saward, is that Red Bull have offered Williams driver Alex Albon another chance.

Albon spent 18 months at the team from the mid-point of 2019 and the end of 2020 but they replaced him with Perez.

While Mercedes may be keen on the Thai driver ahead of Hamilton’s exit, Red Bull have got in early to put a proposal on the table.

Saward wrote: “One might suggest that George [Russell]’s mate Alex Albon might be a good choice for Mercedes, but he is believed to have an attractive offer to go to Red Bull Racing in 2026, which could be a very good idea.”

Why did Albon leave Red Bull?

Albon made his F1 debut with Toro Rosso at the start of 2019 season and, after just 12 races, he received a call-up to the senior team.

Pierre Gasly was under-performing, so Horner and co. decided to make the swap, just as they had done with Verstappen and Daniil Kvyat three years earlier.

It was a steady start for the youngster, who finished in the top six at all but one race before the end of the campaign.

The following year, he bagged his only podiums to date at the Tuscany and Bahrain Grands Prix.

However, he also failed to score points at five out of 17 races, and finished 109 points behind Verstappen in the standings.

In the same machinery, his teammate had won two races and finished in the top three 11 times.

Verstappen also completed a 17-0 whitewash in qualifying, so it wasn’t a surprise when Red Bull opted to make a change.

Albon spent the following season on the sidelines before returning at Williams in 2022.

He’s rebuilt his reputation with the Grove outfit, with one pundit praising his ‘blistering’ speed at the Australian Grand Prix.

Williams have scored 31 points since he arrived, and Albon has been responsible for 28 of those.

His contract with James Vowles’ team runs until the end of 2025, which aligns with Red Bull’s bid.