Red Bull SO Wants Alex Albon Back.

Should Alex Albon be Red Bull's guiding light after Max Verstappen? Well, with Christian Horner suddenly out, it does feel a lot more possible. Also, hi, I'm back for a little bit. I actually went for a few days down to Weymouth with my little one, and now she knows what SEGA Rally 95 is. Priorities. And no, I'm not peddling the tired Max is leaving schtick. Verstappen himself said in his F1.com interview this week, that for now, he's committed to the team's rebuild, which he described as merely slight. Not a total overhaul, but work is needed now that Horner's name has been scrubbed from the payroll officially. Honestly, I thought that would drag through into next year, but here we are. But yeah, about Christian Horner leaving Red Bull officially, now no longer a director. The idea that I had for this video, I think would have been just laughed out the door just a few days ago. The mere aura of Christian Horner being around Milton Keynes would be something that Alex Albon would simply not tolerate. Because you've only got to look at the high performance podcast appearance Alex Albon made all those years ago. It's now gone down in infamy. He said the culture there is simply something that did not work out for him. How intense it can be around a team where Max Verstappen is the head honcho. But I think it's quite evident now that the new Red Bull will be something totally different with Laura Mechies in charge, a more engineering and technically-minded person. Someone who's not going to be relying on one-worders, one-liners, media spin that air to make Red Bull out to be the pantomime villain and all that. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. It's going to be a lot more level, a lot more solid, a little bit more boring. But I think, really, Red Bull, being boring, they need to give that a go. Things are about to change over at Red Bull Racing. Arguably, they've started to change already. And one of those changes includes Helmut Marko being the co-director of the Red Bull Racing team, as well as, I think, the powertrains division. So, yeah, Helmut is definitely more than just a mere special advisor. But in all seriousness, all the stuff that Mechies is maybe trying to do to provide Red Bull Racing a little bit more credibility, a little bit more of a chance to regain some fans again after really annoying a lot of them over the last few years, could that be enough of a temptation for Alex Albon to maybe look at what Red Bull's doing right now, what they could do in the future, and by the time his contract is up at the end of next year, apparently at the end of 2026, might he actually, you know, consider them? It's certainly a lot more likely than it was just a few weeks ago. What's this on, Mo? Why are you talking about this? Are you that desperate to make some content during the summer break that you'll just rely on making clickbait sources? No, no, no, no, no. Yes, I was struggling for some ideas, but then I saw a couple of headlines during my holiday and then just yesterday that did get me thinking about, oh, you know what? I think Red Bull's going to be constantly knocking on Alex Albon's door until he says yes. And also what got my ladder down is about what's been said about Alex Albon, including from James Vowles, his current boss himself. He's not exactly talking him down or being a shrinking violet about Alex. In fact, you could argue that what James is saying is akin to what he was saying about Carlos Sainz this time last year, as in he just won't shut up about him. For good reason, though, because it is worth definitely talking about Alex Albon. Definitely. He's basically leading the Formula 1.5 time in the ship at the moment. But there isn't just that headline either. There's also a couple of headlines swirling around the Thai owners of Red Bull and the investors within Red Bull Racing. Not to mention the Thai government is looking to bring a Grand Prix to their own country, spending over a billion dollars on the project. And no, no, they're not going to use a standard grade one FIA approved circuit like booty around the Chang International Circuit. No, it's going to be a street circuit, apparently around cream tape. You've got a grade one circuit. Come on, just use that. But still, yeah, there's a lot of interest from Thailand at the moment, but that's still not the main headline I'm talking about today. It's all to do with the muttering, supposedly, regarding Shalom Yovidya, the public face of the Thai side of Red Bull, where the drink originally was sourced and who has a stake in the F1 team as well. Apparently, he would love to see Alex Albon return to F1, having most likely been quite disappointed at the outcome of the final days of Alex's 2020 season, where their boy was replaced by Sergio Perez. It does make you wonder, actually, about what would have happened had Sergio Perez not had his burn from the stern that he remained relatively near the back and George Russell went on to win that Grand Prix. That he didn't have all those maladies before him. Things might have changed completely. Alex might have survived into 2021, albeit by the skin of his teeth. We got that compromise indeed. Christian Horner wasn't willing to let him go entirely. He became the team's reserve driver. He got some DTM gigs. And then Christian, with a little help from George Russell doing his old friend a solid from what Alex did for him back in his karting days, meant that there was some sort of way back in, which was not expected. And then here we are, just a few years later, and Alex's credibility is higher than ever. In any case, the way that Alex's Red Bull career ended was not typical to how a second driver's career has ended or has continued thus far. But hopefully, that second-seat curse will be coming to an end relatively soon. And hopefully, Yuki Tsunoda, according to some reports, might survive into 2026. Then there was another piece, this time from James Vowles. He has once again extolled praise. Deservedly, by the way. I ain't hatin'. Stating that Alex is very much the real deal and could be an interesting prospect up against Max Verstappen in a scenario. So here are James's comments for your consideration. Ahem. He will go always as quick as he is, but the simple fact behind it is if you put him up against Max now, he would be a completely different animal. And the way I'm perhaps adjudicating him isn't just about how fast he is in the car, because I think he always has been, but actually how resilient he is to everything. Things going wrong around you and how strong he is in that circumstance. So I think his peak level... Has it gone up a lot? Probably not. Is the ability to get there every time there? Yes. That's what I'm seeing. And, uh, yeah. I don't think James is wrong here. Sure, Alex isn't the absolute best on the grid right now, but I certainly think he's one of the toughest. Because just look at his comeback. The fact he even had one. He came out of 2020 thinking that his F1 career was over by the end of his second season. In fact, his only full season. And now he's winning the Best of the Rest campaign and maybe pestering the likes of Kimi Antonelli so he can maybe Best a Mercedes driver. And when Valves is saying that, oh, Alex's ceiling has not really improved that much. No, that's not Shay. He's not hating on the guy or anything saying, oh, he's not really improved. No, no, no, no, no. He's talking about the gap between the floor and the ceiling and that Alex's average has improved considerably and that it doesn't really take that much more to get to his absolute best. In short, that's consistency, people. And consistency is king. In fact, that's what won a Williams champion that title all those years ago. I'm looking at you, Pleke Rosberg. You can see it in Williams' climb from ninth in the Constructors last year, making up the difference for the fact that Carlos Sainz has really not had a good integration in Williams and is really struggling a lot more than he expected to. We all thought that Carlos was gonna wipe the floor with Alex, especially after what Franco did to him last year, to Albon. And now look where Alex is right now. This is probably his best season in Formula 1 ever. And he's not that far away from the total points scored when he was at Red Bull for the second half of 2019. That would be a really major achievement if he can get over 90 points, but it's looking a bit difficult considering Williams isn't upgrading anymore. But in short, in terms of speculation regarding Alex's future in Formula 1, I do not need the spanner. The spanner is not needed. Having said that, I can understand why it may sound to some a little weird for James to be bigging up Alex in this manner. Why would he comment about him against Max? It's not relevant because they're not at the same team, nor are they really in the same frame within Formula 1. That happened once before, and Albon's made it very plain. He does not intend to return to Milton Keynes anytime soon, especially with Max there. There have been multiple reports over the last 12 months or so that Red Bull were interested in bringing back Alex, but he just flatly said no thank you to them and chose to remain with Williams where he extended his contract in the middle of last year. And if all goes well next year and Williams turn out to be right up there with the front runners again after nigh on a couple of decades of not being so, say for a couple of years in the middle of the 2010s, then there may be no reason for him to even leave unless things between he and Carlos really get nasty and one of them just feels like they can't work with the other. Hopefully that doesn't happen because they are very apolitical, those two, but you never know. And I do think there is a more nuanced intention from what James is saying here. I do think he is showing some elements of Toto Wolf there in making sure that Alex is a valuable asset that can remain in F1 for a very long time, even if it's not with Williams, but it's also bigging up Alex for the sake of their investors, Darleton Capital, we're talking about their new title sponsor Atlassian, all the brand new sponsors they're getting, they're courting, and maybe looking toward in the future, all the while keeping Albon's market value really, really high and without trying to trigger a bidding war. Although it may come in the fullness of time given the comments made by Alex's manager regarding contracts being worth the piece of paper it's printed on or written on. And especially since Carlos is taking a very, very long time to get to grips with the machine and the team and the car. Because I can imagine there was another reason for them saying that, because it might have made Sainz's performance made his sponsors feel a little twitchy and maybe the other ones that were thinking Carlos was going to be even better than he is and saying that, no, Alex can make up for the difference until Carlos is back up to speed and then both of them will be going great guns. But to me, this is genuinely something I think Toto Wolf would do. I do think the apple hasn't fallen that far from the tree in that he's trying to make sure that both of their drivers are still in the spotlight, they are still valued, and that if the time came that they may wish to move on from Williams, a better offer comes their way, or if they're simply not performing well enough, they've got somewhere to go to. And perhaps, maybe, like his old boss is doing at the moment, Vowles in his own way is trying to shape the grid to something that he might like. James will have had his part in manipulating how the F1 grid shapes itself going forward, with Alex being one of the more senior drivers out there. I mean, just take a look at what James was able to broker with Alpine ensuring that he managed to get back on the grid again for 2025, and managing to get 15 million dollars from Alpine and Renault for the trouble of it. Sure, it may not work out in the long run if Franco chooses to move on, or if Alpine drop him for next year, I'm pretty sure that James will be taking him back easily, happily so, knowing the long-term potential of what Franco can do with a Williams operation, the culture, the ethos, and Mercedes power. But yeah, that's for another video. But you're wanting to know where this is all going, I get you. What could be Red Bull's compelling offer pitched toward James and Alex should it come to that? One thing that would certainly be a deal-breaker to get Red Bull even through the door would be that Max had made it apparent that he would not be sticking around. Should Max's rebuilding of Red Bull turn out to not meet expectations or his intentions were to prepare the team for life after him, instead of him remaining through 2028, the team would need a new leader to help guide their junior talent. Now granted, of course, Max could just choose to remain there for the next couple of years and Alex's services would not be required and everything would be hunky-dory. They could easily, Red Bull, go for a young double act like McLaren are doing right now with Oscar Orlando, and that's proving to be quite effective. McLaren trying to get at least a thousand points in the Constructors this year, a major milestone. We could easily see maybe Hajar and Lawson up there or Hajar or Lindblad or Lawson and Lindblad, who knows? But if Alex were available from 2027 and Williams were not exactly rapid in terms of signing him up again to get yet another extension, then I don't really see any reason why Red Bull wouldn't be having Alex, the Thai driver, at the top of their drivers list, even if it's been previously whipped out to the Thai driver and he smacks it in their face. Because even though we've seen the team struggle in recent times, their competitive probability is still a lot higher than Williams's as of now. Next year's reset brings a new power unit split between combustion and battery. There's the active aero, the mom, and smaller cars, albeit small, which will shuffle the order. Red Bull will run its own powertrain unit with Ford support, and Ford's leadership's been on the record many times, saying the project's meeting key milestones and their commitment is not beholden to max. If they can, Red Bull, show reliability markers as well that look real as next year's car progresses, this could be a really clear integration story between Milton Keynes and Ford that will not disintegrate or quit at the first sign of issue. That is a sporting hook that Williams cannot match right now because they are very much a customer team. Red Bull are not only a works team, they are their own team. They do everything by themselves. They're not beholden to an outside group. They have maximum optimisation. But wait, hang on, surely Williams will be a behemoth next year, right? That is very true. Williams have been the biggest bastions of just not focusing on this year and then looking to next year. Oh, I think they're going to be competitive, sure. However, like I just mentioned, it's up to Mercedes to uphold their end of the bargain, and for the longest time, we've all been presuming that Mercedes will be, like they were in 2014, the absolute powerhouse. That's why they are powering four teams and everyone else is usually just powering two of them or even just one. They definitely have the field in terms of market spread. However, I have seen slightly more headlines in recent times that have been suggesting that the Mercedes advantage may not be as big as previously believed or alternatively, they might actually be not that great at all and that it could be a lot more even. And also, there's something else to consider here, people. We no longer have an engine freeze, people. Something that Red Bull asked for 2022, and I think it was something that kicked Renault when it was down, when they were also down on power because they couldn't fix that. And not to mention that next year's regulations are going to make it very clear this is going to be an engine formula instead of an aero one like we've seen in the Grand Effect era. And no, I'm not suggesting that Mercedes are going to be an absolute disaster. I'm not saying that this is a complete 180 or anything in headlines. I'm just saying that some of the headlines are pouring cold water on the news, the hype, the gossip, you know, tempering expectations. It could mean that the order at the beginning of the year could be completely different to the order at the middle of the year or even the end of the year. And going forward, you might end up just peaking really, really early and therefore you reach a ceiling and then you have to completely change things and then you waste more time, whereas you could start off with maybe something that's OK and then your peak might be even higher. We don't know what's going to be happening with Audi and I'm really, really excited about that project. And now you're hearing rumblings that Mercedes are taking Honda really, really seriously with Aston Martin, so there's that too. And that might have been partly why Max chose not to jump the gun for 2026, because you don't know what the engines are going to do. The feedback loop between the engine unit and the main unit, it's within minutes, it's the same campus. Because I do think role clarity would be the second factor in any conversation that Alex has with Red Bull. If the pitch is lead the post-Max era for us, it needs to be explicit and locked in. Talks have to begin in earnest the very minute Max says to the management and Laurent, I'm out at the end of the year, should it come to that. When Alex is made privy to that, a multi-year deal, written guarantees around equal equipment at minimum with the teammate and a defined voice and development inside a management structure that has changed a lot since Christian's exit would have to be mandatory. They cannot be negotiable. And timing really, really matters because as of this moment, Alex is the only available-ish top-end driver on the grid right now because you've got the likes of Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, what have you. They are all locked in to deals beyond 2027, 2028, even for Charles, if he chooses to exercise the option, 2029. If Max does decide to walk to another team or even retire, Alex may be the only one around if they choose not to just take a risk and go for youngsters. And it's a lot more of a realistic option than many people think. And with Lauren Mechies as installer's team principal, Red Bull can position the move as a fresh chapter where Albon is central to everything, yet not super fresh because he is a Red Bull driver at heart, having proven with Williams that he can be an anchor for a team stuck within stormy seas and then escape them. Plus Albon's driven across three regulation cycles and previous Red Bull machinery, turbo hybrid high downforce, the current ground effect cars, and he's already laying the groundwork for the 2026 reset. That adaptability is underrated. Red Bull will be getting a driver that has already proven that he can learn from other teams and be able to reset his career efficiently and effectively. No longer are people treating him as some kind of fraud who didn't really have much of a benchmark up until very recently. No, he has always been the real deal. And the symbolism really matters for Red Bull due to all of the major players departing for brand new teams. They really need to rebrand and bring in some brand new drivers that are following their brand new technically and engineeringly mined ethos with a lot more sensibility knocked around them as well as maturity. Because sure, Red Bull might want to be fun loving in a party team, but they also really need to just get rid of being seen as the bad guys. You can be a fun team, but also a team that treats other teams with respect and doesn't go shouting to the FIA every other weekend. And you're seeing that the changes are happening already, because even though you might think Max is already fed up with Red Bull and thinking that it's not really something that's going to be anything other than a lost cause, Max has made it very clear. He's nailing his colors to the wall for next year. He wants to be part of that rebuild. A team that has been around him his entire F1 career, believed in him in F3 to give him the jump up to Toro Rosso. Max is not abandoning them. He's giving them plenty of chances. There will come a time where Max will have to go and move on if he wants to win another title, try something new. But right now that's not going to happen. But Red Bull cannot take that for granted. They need a backup plan. And Alex Albon could be a really good backup plan. They might not need to use it, but they need to have it. Then there's the commercial side to be had because I don't think you need me to tell you if Alex went to Red Bull, they would have a fully fledged, genuine, authentic, 100% proof presence within Thailand. There are many, many people in that country and they are very, very interested in having a Grand Prix, the populace and the government. So having a Thai driver on your books and there being a Thai Grand Prix, it's just an absolute no brainer. In the Asian races in Japan and China, Alex has a lot of fans there and he treats it like an effective home Grand Prix. He's always said he would like to have a Grand Prix at his home country. So any team that has Alex on their books will be gaining millions more fans. And on top of that, Alex has become one of the most likable drivers on the grid. His reputation is humble, funny, approachable. It resonates with younger fans, exactly the demographic Red Bull targets with its lifestyle branding and its refresh. So pairing his personality with the Southeast Asia expansion, it would get Red Bull both sporting credibility and a marketing goldmine. Then, once Max has fulfilled his public commitment for next year, as promised and then leaves or moves into another racing category, Red Bull would need a new lead driver who is resilient, low maintenance and credible with the engineers with a track record for slow and steady restoration with a smile and speed. And with what Val's comments said about Alex, oh, that completely defines him. Abso-freaking-lutely. And again, we don't know whether Williams's plans will actually bear fruit because right now, Red Bull is the biggest stage for Alex. A second chance with Red Bull, it would be a precedent, unheard of. And yet at the same time, it's a completely different Red Bull to what it was five years ago when he parted ways with them awkwardly. Because the refresh of Red Bull, it's real. You've seen plenty of the memes out there, but dozens of jobs on LinkedIn for brand new representatives at Red Bull. There is a major change going on here. Either people being removed or people quitting the team for maybe wanting to try somewhere else or maybe being loyalists to Horner and simply not wanting any part of the brand new Red Bull. But there are going to be major changes afoot and Mechies will be right there to make it happen. And if he can prove to Alex that the changes are different enough to prove that the culture of Red Bull will be different to what it was when he was there with Max in 2019 and 20, then I think potentially it could be a major draw and a means for Alex to correct many mistakes. Now, I'm not saying that Alex should abandon Williams. Absolutely not. If he wants to stay with them for the long term, then he can do that. But I do think that we should really consider that Red Bull will be doing everything they possibly can to get Albon and we will be constantly hearing more and more rumours about that and it may even come to pass, depending on what happens next year. If Williams stutter around a bit, their integration with Mercedes don't turn out to be good, or if the Red Bull powertrain turns out to be an absolute behemoth, then who knows? Yet, without a doubt, whatever happens with Alex, Red Bull does need to change. And what Lauren has been able to do already in just nearly a couple of months or something, it's definitely true that Red Bull is very different to what it was at the beginning of the season. I think there'll be far less boos coming their way. Already, I feel like they are far less obsessed with just backing one driver and then leaving the other one to rot. After all the revelations in Spa, actually giving Yuki the relevant parts, the upgraded parts, and then, oh, would you look at that? Yuki's in Q3. Who would have thunk it? Because that's one thing I think would keep Alex away because even if he did end up being the team leader, where would be the competitive benchmark? Because it would just then repeat that, oh, Red Bull would have Tomovision for Alex and then leave the other one just to be completely irrelevant. Albon has thrived with having a benchmarking Carlos, proving to everybody that he's got it. I'll give you that, Tomo. He's certainly shown himself up, Alex, for the good. It's definitely worth giving Alex another go with a front-running team. And yeah, I do think that there is a chance Williams could be a front-running team for a couple of years. Who knows? It might be sustained. It might be permanent. But Red Bull, they've been up there for over a decade right now. And if Alex can do that there as part of his entire career, starting off at Red Bull, then moving to Williams and then back to Red Bull again, then this could be a chance for him to rewrite history for another team, getting them back up to tempo. But then at the same time, Alex may just want to remain with Williams, a team that he has now made into his own ideal, that he can be part of the team's history, etching his name into the annals of it and helping them regenerate into the modern era with modern backing. That would be a huge accolade for his career, and he would certainly go down very well with the British Racing Drivers Club. They certainly like their Williams. But all of that does not mean that Red Bull will not stop trying to sign him. But then you might be saying, well, hang on a minute. I'm going to get my phone out right here. Well, couldn't Red Bull do the same thing with Pierre Gasly? Yeah, they certainly could do that. Another Red Bull refugee maybe wanting to correct the mistakes of his own tenure within 2019. And also I think his contract with Alpine ends at the end of next year. So there's that too. But I do think that his relationship with that team is maybe a little bit more complicated and damaged than Albon's. Because you hear time and time again, former Red Bull employees and many, many flutterings around the internet and social media and headlines in general from articles that Gasly did not get on well at all with the organization and did ruffle many feathers out there that he would just have to settle being the benchmark at Alpha Tauri and Toro Rosso. And if he wanted to try and get any higher, he'd have to leave the team, which is exactly what he did. And with Albon, it's totally different. He's so easygoing and he's also really, really adaptable because one minute he could be seen happily with a big smile, cuddling some cats at a shelter. And then the next minute he could be dunking a Ferrari. Both Ferraris, in fact. He's quirky. He's gentle. He's also fierce, tough and competitive. That's a lot of things to be said about a driver. He's almost the complete package. Very, very good in terms of a representative and a spokesperson. But he can also deliver you consistent results. And that's what we're seeing with Williams. He's not a headache. And right now, Red Bull need low drama personnel that don't cause headaches. What does Albon need? A car that can win. Simple. As things stand, Red Bull still offers that path sooner than Williams. We're seeing this right now, even with Max at the wheel. Sure, Max is a little downbeat regarding the prospect of maybe not winning another race this year, but he's definitely enthused at helping get the group he's been with since 2015 get on the straight and narrow again. However, like with Hamilton, there may come a time when he might have no choice but to move on. If or when that happens, Alex is definitely going to be, I think, Red Bull's first choice. He's helped me build one team's legacy, so could he be, like SpongeBob, saying to the world, want to see me do it again? Anyway, it's nice to be back again, albeit for a few days before I'm off to Center Parcs again. But I thought I would just come up with a little bit of a video just for your curiosity. And if you'd like to see more Ladder Man curiosities, I think that maybe this video will tickle your fancy. So I'll see you over there. I'll be right back, OK?