Albon officially no longer part of Red Bull as of 2023

Alexander Albon is officially no longer part of the Red Bull team. With his new deal at Williams, Red Bull has lost the option to bring in the Thai himself.

Albon has been associated with Red Bull for a long time. Early on he was identified by Helmut Marko as a great talent, but when the Thai (partly due to sad family circumstances) performed less well in the formula cars, the partnership was discontinued. In 2019, however, Albon proved necessary again and suddenly got a seat with Toro Rosso in F1.

Albon to stand on his own two feet

The story that followed is well known. Albon was offered a chance at Red Bull Racing after just six months, but lost that seat after a year and a half. After a year on the sidelines he got the opportunity to drive for Williams. Albon has impressed there this year, but not enough for Red Bull to bring him back.

This year Red Bull still had an option in Albon's contract with which he could be brought back. Williams, however, revealed during the summer break that there is a new multi-year deal with Albon. Red Bull has not used the option. With Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez and Pierre Gasly, three of Red Bull's four seats have already been allocated for 2023.

Red Bull has no say anymore

Albon says in conversation with The Race Albon now knows that the multi-year deal with Williams also means that he is now truly a Williams driver. Of course I still stay close with Red Bull just because of what they’ve helped me with from the very beginning of my career. I still have a very close relationship with them, but let’s say going into next year that’s me on my own, my bag packed.''

Albon does not rule out racing for Red Bull at some point in the future, but Red Bull is like any other team to him at the moment. There will always be options to switch, but he's no longer part of the Red Bull team. He doesn't rule out possible Red Bull sponsorships on his helmet though.