Williams F1 Boss Dismisses Rumored Red Bull-Albon Myth

Alex Albon will be back in Formula One in 2022. But not in Red Bull or Red Bull’s sister team, Alpha Tauri. Quite surprisingly, Albon will return in the blue-and-white Williams suit.

However, Williams boss Jost Capito has stated clearly that Alex Albon joining the team does not mean that there will be any sort of partnership between Williams and Red Bull in the future.

Albon to drive for Williams with Red Bull branding?

With the departure of George Russell from the team, Williams had a seat to fill for 2022, and they saw Albon as the man for the job. Albon had raced for Toro Rosso (currently Alpha Tauri) and Red Bull in 2019 and 2020 but lost his seat to Sergio Perez this year.

When Williams confirmed the arrival of the Thai driver to the team, Red Bull revealed that they have released him from his contract for 2022. They also said that they will retain a relationship with him with options to work together in the future.

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So, it appears that Albon will have some form of Red Bull branding next year as he drives for Williams. Yet, Capito made it clear that Red Bull Thailand would serve as a “personal sponsor” for Alex Albon.

“He is a full Williams driver, with no contract with Red Bull.”, Capito said.

“What he has is [that] Red Bull Thailand is his personal sponsor all through his career. And he has the right to have personal sponsors.

“So, he will keep Red Bull as his personal sponsor. But it’s not a Red Bull-Williams connection.”

Alex Albon is a key part of Red Bull behind the scenes

Alex Albon has played a key role for Red Bull this year, though most of it is behind the scenes. As a reserve driver, he has put in a lot of work in the simulator to help the full-time drivers. Now, his team is aiming to win the first F1 constructors’ championship title since 2013.

Therefore, it is doubtful whether Albon will start preparing with Williams before the season is over. However, Capito is confident that they will start working together right after the final race of the season at Abu Dhabi.

“He is still working for Red Bull, and he is in their simulator and doing work for them.”, Capito said.

“His contract ends at the end of the year, so when we are talking, it is more personal stuff. It’s not technical stuff, because we keep that very separate. That’s the right thing to do.“

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Can Alex Albon continue the rise that Williams is experiencing with Russell regularly putting the car in Q2 and then in points-scoring positions? Only time will tell.