George Russell made the Mercedes move in 2022 and shocked everybody as the Silver Arrows let go of Valtteri Bottas. Even after Lewis Hamilton asked Wolff to keep Bottas, the Mercedes CEO decided to look at the future. And now that Hamilton is gone, many were expecting Alex Albon to be one of the contenders for the Brackley-based team. Unfortunately, one of Toto Wolff’s former teammates has recently taken away that option from the Mercedes TP.

Alex Albon’s performances in the Williams have been praiseworthy, to say the least. The Thai driver has consistently put the Williams car in Q3 and finished in the points, whereas the car’s pace isn’t good enough for the same. While there were doubts over Albon’s career after getting sacked by Red Bull’s senior team, he’s been one of the hottest drivers on the grid this year.

Toto Wolff, who’s looking to fill the shoes of a 7X champ, might’ve been keeping an eye on Albon. However, former Mercedes member and current Williams Team Principal James Vowles has now retained Alex Albon, who will be with the team for the foreseeable future. The Thai driver has committed to a long-term future with Williams and is here to stay. 

The contract is probably going to be on the lines of what George Russell had at Williams. Even when Toto Wolff signed the Brit for 2022, he explained how the Williams contract was ‘watertight’, with no scope to sign Russell earlier. Even Lando Norris’ current McLaren contract doesn’t have any exit clause, as suggested by Zak Brown. Hence, another option is down for the Mercedes Boss. 

Regardless, many feel Alex Albon made the right decision, as James Vowles has brought about a change at Williams. Investments are slowly coming in and even Adrian Newey is rumored to join the team. For the time being, let’s concentrate on what Albon had to say after signing the contracts

Alex Albon explains his long-term commitment to Williams

2012 was the year when Williams last won a race and 1997 was when they last won a championship. It’ll be a fair assessment to say that they’ve struggled in the last decade and a half. However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that they are still one of the oldest and greatest teams, with a huge heritage. And with James Vowles making improvements on every level, Albon played the long game to sign the Multi-year contract.

As the announcement was made, Alex Albon said, “I am incredibly happy to be remaining with Williams Racing and to continue working with such a talented and dedicated team of people. It has been a difficult start to the year, but since joining Williams, we have made significant progress together, and I have seen the huge changes happening behind the scenes to take us back to the front of the grid. This is a long-term project that I really believe in and want to play a key role in, which is why I have signed a multi-year contract.”

What do you think about Alex Albon committing long-term with Williams? Let us know in the comments.