One of the biggest talking points heading into the 2025 season was who would be racing for Red Bull this season.
Although Max Verstappen went on to become a four-time world champion, it was a far from straightforward season for him and Red Bull.
Verstappen was linked with a move away from Red Bull, although he appears much more content to stay with the team that gave him his chance in Formula 1 until his current deal ends in 2028.
The same can’t be said for Sergio Perez who came under increasing pressure as the 2024 campaign went on.
Even the new contract Perez signed after the Monaco Grand Prix did little to instil further confidence in the 34-year-old and he was dismissed at the end of the season.
There was a lot of talk about who could replace Perez with several drivers heavily linked with the role.
Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto were all overlooked in favour of Liam Lawson.
However, Red Bull also cast their net further than that during the year to see if a more established star would consider a move to the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
A report from the latest issue of GP Racing highlighted that Red Bull took an interest in one of their former drivers: Alex Albon.
Albon – who signed a new £2.5m-a-year deal at Williams last year – didn’t have the best time during his stint racing for Red Bull.
However, he’s a known quantity and only improved since his spell racing alongside Verstappen in 2019 and 2020.
Alex Albon turned down a ‘first-option’ 2026 Red Bull contract
The report from GP Racing talks about how Williams wanted £20m for Colapinto after Red Bull took an interest in the exciting Argentine after he replaced Logan Sargeant.
The 21-year-old is undoubtedly quick but made several key errors in Las Vegas and Sao Paulo that ultimately put Red Bull off signing him, even if he would have helped replace the sponsorship deals they’ve lost as a result of dropping Perez.
Carlos Sainz was the best free agent on the market in 2024 after losing his Ferrari seat to Lewis Hamilton.
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However, there were fears Verstappen’s camp would block a move for Sainz given their disagreements while they were teammates at Toro Rosso in 2015.
Before Red Bull decided to replace Perez with Lawson, GP Racing reported that the team offered Albon a ‘first-option’ deal for the 2026 season.
This was before Albon signed a new deal with Williams, but the Thai driver decided to stick with his current team despite the current gulf in quality between the two outfits.
Why would Alex Albon turn down the chance to race for Red Bull again?
Albon was promoted into the second Red Bull seat alongside Verstappen after just 12 Grand Prix – one more than Lawson has under his belt before his debut for the team in Australia this year.
However, 18 months later, he was out of the door, having secured just two podiums during his time with the team.
Albon went to extreme lengths to adapt to Red Bull’s demands but couldn’t rediscover the form he displayed during his first few races at AlphaTauri.
READ MORE: Williams driver Alex Albon’s life outside F1 with net worth, girlfriend to parents
Albon’s Thai heritage means he’ll always have a connection to Red Bull’s owners who would love to have a driver racing under their flag in the team, especially as Thailand hopes to join the F1 calendar in the future.
Ted Kravitz thinks Albon’s contract contains a Red Bull option, allowing him to leave the team if they come calling.
Red Bull seemed to want to strengthen their ties with the 28-year-old driver last year, but Albon seems to have plenty of confidence that he’s in the right place for his career at Williams and is now part of one of the grid’s strongest partnerships alongside Sainz.
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