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Not Russell or Red Bull! Albon Reveals Who is Actually Responsible for His F1 Return

Published 09/23/2021, 4:09 PM EDT

Alex Albon will return to Formula One next year. The Red Bull reserve driver will replace George Russell at Williams Racing in the 2022 season. The move at first came as a surprise for everyone, as Albon was a Red Bull driver and had a contract with them.

But he got the seat after Russell recommended his name as a replacement for himself. Albon stated that the push from the media also gave a push for him to go for a push in the 2022 season.

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I was still making sure there were options out there: Alex Albon

As reported by Planetf1, the Thai driver stated he was looking for other options other than F1 before he saw a vacancy at the British team. Albon thanked the media for pushing to get a drive in F1 for next year.

“I honestly think that you guys drove the push more than anyone else. On my side, things were still obviously talking. But let’s say there were other names being mentioned. At the same time, I was still making sure there were options out there.” said Albon.

Alex mentioned things moved quickly when it came to negotiations with the teams regarding his future in the sport.

“Of course, things moved quickly though, and it was probably especially true, I mean, when the news that there were chances when George was moving to Mercedes and Valtteri moving to Alfa, things picked up pretty quickly.

“There were obviously earlier discussions being had with Jost [Capito] and with Williams, and yeah, it just came to be. Obviously, I had a lot of help from Christian [Horner] and Dr. Marko as well,” said Albon.

The Thai driver is optimistic about his chances at Williams

Alex Albon will partner Nicholas Latifi next season. When spoke about why he chose Williams, he mentioned the team is looking on the up. They have also scored 22 points this season so far.

“Looking at Williams, I would say that the first thing is, they look like they’re on the up. They’ve obviously got the investment coming in, but also I had the chance to visit the team and they all seemed very positive, optimistic.

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They were very keen to talk to me and get involved and make things happen. It seemed like a great choice to get back onto the grid.” explained Albon.

Red Bull dropped Albon at the end of last season after they went for Sergio Perez for the 2021 season. They gave Albon the role of reserve and sim driver at the team for the 2021 season.

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Will Alex succeed at Williams? Let us know.

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Written by:

Devang Chauhan is an F1 author at EssentiallySports. Having completed his graduation in Journalism and Mass Communication, he has a keen eye for writing engaging and detailed articles on F1. Previously a writer for Sports Social's 'Chase Your Sport' Magazine, Devang has been an ardent follower of the sport for over a decade and has attended two editions of the Indian Grand Prix.

Not Russell or Red Bull! Albon Reveals Who is Actually Responsible for His F1 Return

I was still making sure there were options out there: Alex Albon

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The Thai driver is optimistic about his chances at Williams