Alex Albon has reportedly rejected a return to the Red Bull family, following his recent form for Williams.
It was reported by FIA accredited journalist Yhacbec Lopez that Albon rejected an offer from the Austrians to return to their structure.
The Thai driver left the Red Bull family in 2022 after putting all of his faith in Williams, something he’s clearly continuing to do.
Lopez broke the news on Twitter: “It has been known that @alex_albon received the proposal to return to the RB structure and replied…’No, thanks’. It’s never happened before…”
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Albon joined the Red Bull junior team in 2012 and was looked after by the Austrians throughout his junior career, before being promoted into Formula 1 in 2019.
Red Bull promoted Albon into sister team Toro Rosso – known now as AlphaTauri – where he excelled alongside Daniil Kvyat.
Albon did so well in fact, that he was swapped with Pierre Gasly at Red Bull mid-season.
Gasly had struggled alongside Max Verstappen, resulting in the Milton Keynes-based team deciding to switch the Frenchman and Albon.
Albon also found racing for Red Bull difficult, something which saw him replaced by Sergio Perez at the end of 2021.
This pushed Albon off the F1 grid and onto the sidelines, resulting in Red Bull fielding the driver in DTM.
He managed to seal a return to F1 in 2022 with Williams though, after replacing George Russell who moved to Mercedes.
Since making the move to the Grove-based team, Albon has been exceptional in leading the backmarker team, who are getting closer to the midfield.
All of their points this season have come courtesy of Albon, who recently finished ahead of both Ferrari drivers at the British Grand Prix.
Albon currently sits 13th in the Drivers’ Championship, whilst Williams occupy seventh in the Constructors’ just on his 11 points alone.
READ: Alex Albon says Williams in ‘very good place’ after new upgrades
He’s starting to make a habit of getting amongst the top eight despite being in a challenging car, with him having finished eighth at Silverstone and seventh at the Canadian Grand Prix.
This seemingly caught Red Bull’s attention, especially when Sergio Perez is currently struggling so much.
His commitment to Williams by rejecting Red Bull’s approach says a lot about him as a driver, and the belief he has in the British team’s project.