Capito played role Verstappen's debut: 'I gave him that engine package'

Through years of experience within motorsport, Williams team boss Jost Capito has built good ties with Red Bull Racing and Mercedes. According to him, this is also the reason why it is possible for Alexander Albon to take his place in the second seat at his team.

Capito is in an unusual situation. Williams has been running Mercedes engines since 2014. In 2019, Mercedes junior George Russell took his place at the team. Yet Williams has now signed Alexander Albon, who has ties to Red Bull Racing.

The Thai driver had to watch from the sidelines for a year after Red Bull did not offer him a seat at Alpha Tauri or the top team. However, the team has now struck a deal with Williams to allow Albon to take a seat with the English team.

"It was easier than everybody believes. I have a good relationship with Red Bull, because I worked with them in the Sauber times, so I know Dietrich Mateschitz quite well. I also have a good relationship with Helmut Marko," Capito said in the Collecting Cars podcast.

The team boss also played a role in Max Verstappen's F1 debut. "I gave Verstappen the engine package to get into Formula 3 with Amersfoort, otherwise he wouldn’t have gone into F3 in that year. Then he got straight into Red Bull after a couple of F3 races, and I discussed that with Marko. Red Bull and Toto Wolff both trust me." Capito will make sure the deal doesn't have a negative impact on the teams.