Alex Albon has divulged which two drivers he would want to race for him were he to become a Formula 1 team principal.
Albon has now raced with three team-mates in a Formula 1 career that started in 2019, and he has gauged which drivers have the most technical, athletic and mental ability in that time.
The Thai-Brit raced alongside Nicholas Latifi at the Dams team in Formula 2 in 2018, with ART’s George Russell and Lando Norris of Carlin also progressing through the F2 ranks.
Albon, Russell and Norris all made it into F1 with Toro Rosso, Williams and McLaren respectively in 2019, while Latifi was signed by Williams a year later.
The 26-year-old raced alongside Daniil Kvyat for the first half of the 2019 season, before jumping up to Red Bull to replace the struggling Pierre Gasly.
READ: Max Verstappen used to open FIFA Packs before qualifying
He was dropped by the Austrian side following a disappointing 2020 season, and he now finds himself at Williams alongside Latifi.
Albon has filled the shoes of George Russell as a result of his move to Grove, and the Briton has managed six podium finishes in his career, five with Mercedes this season.
Norris himself has made six rostrum appearances since 2019 and, despite 2020 not quite going as planned, Albon finished third in Mugello and Bahrain that year.
Verstappen is the reigning champion, and has won 28 races in a career that started when he was just 17 years of age.
The Dutchman’s first season in Formula 1 with Toro Rosso was only his second-ever single seater season, so he, in Albon’s eyes, is an easy first pick.
Because of the tension between Verstappen and seven-time champion Sir Lewis Hamilton last season, the Williams driver chose not to include the 37-year-old, and chose the chemistry the Red Bull driver has with Norris instead.
“If I didn’t have to consider salaries, I would definitely take Max,” Albon told Auto Motor und Sport.
“He is extremely talented and brings everything with him. Looking to the future, I would pick another young driver.
“Because of the team dynamic, the choice would be Lando, he gets on well with Max; Max and George, that would probably mean fireworks.”
Albon does not believe he was helped at Red Bull by the fact he was plunged straight into a top team, and he does not believe that three-time race winner, Sergio Perez, is performing any better than he did alongside Verstappen.
“After half a year I was put straight into a top team, earlier than any other driver and without testing the year before,” he explained.
“If you look at youngsters today, they get the chance to develop slowly. 2019 was a good year, then in 2020 I struggled with the car.
“It was the experience that was missing. If you look at the gaps between Checo and Max at the beginning of last year, it was no different to me.”
However, Albon believes that the break he took last season to race in DTM last year served him well.
READ: Alex Albon on how regulation changes can help Williams
“I took a lot of criticism for my performance, that’s when the 2021 break came in handy,” he added.
“When you’re not driving yourself, you can take a step back and suddenly see the whole picture.
“I realised how important it is to get everything out of the car, sometimes you don’t feel comfortable with a set-up, but it’s still the best set-up. I had to understand that first.”
Albon is Currently 19th in the Drivers’ Standings having scored points twice in the opening 13 rounds of the season in an underperforming Williams car.
Team-mate Latifi is 20th with a best finish of P12 at Silverstone in July.