Williams Formula 1 team boss James Vowles revealed on Monday that Alex Albon was under contract until the end of the 2025 season, trying to head off rumors about the Thai driver’s future. The 2024 season will only begin on March 2 in Bahrain but all eyes are already on the next one, which Lewis Hamilton will compete at the wheel of a Ferrari. By announcing his upcoming transfer from Mercedes to the Scuderia last week, the seven-time world champion launched a game of “musical shuttlecocks”, and some already see Albon succeeding him within the Mercedes team.
The Thai driver, who is 27 years old, is also sent by others to Red Bull, where Sergio Pérez’s contract expires at the end of 2024. Albon has already driven a single-seater for the Austrian team during the seasons 2019 and 2020, before Red Bull became the dominant power in the paddock with Max Verstappen.
“Alex has signed with Williams until the end of 2025,” James Vowles said during his team’s pre-season presentation. “It’s not something I’ve really gone public with until now because I didn’t feel like I had to. But our job at Williams is to create an environment that someone of Alex’s caliber deserves,” added the team boss.
Albon finished last season in 13th place in the World Drivers’ Championship with 27 points, while Williams finished in 7th place in the constructors’ standings, its best result in six years. “Let’s wait and see. The future will tell,” declared Albon. “The real goal is 2024 and to progress for 2025. That’s where I am. If the team ends up where I want it to be, it will be a long-term contract.
