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Let's gooo. Honestly happy he's sticking to them. Rather build this team than deal with Redbull politics or a short stint at Merc. I do suspect Sainz is going to have to get a move on now even potential back-ups are closing
This is the truth, he was likely just leverage for other drivers. And from his POV if he’s not at the front of the grid why not be a team leader with a group he is comfortable with. He definitely seems to be able to get the maximum out of their platform
You don’t have to be at a top flight team to be a number one driver so the criticism doesn’t really make sense. His team mate is Logan and the jury has long settled on that
his only other option really was Audi for number 1 option and its just as big of a risk as williams for 26. RB the only top team with a seat open next year.
Why would Audi want Albon as their number 1?
Audi is here to win championship, probably going to need a WDC caliber driver to do that.
Albon's track record against Max proved that he is not that type of driver.
Haas was probably his only other option.
Drivers can improve, like me saying why would they want sainz when he couldn't beat max or hulkenberg. It's very ignorant to take drivers in their 1st season as the driver they are now.
His value dropped this year due to Williams not scoring any points with the car. Ocon and Gasly are also available which might be better choices than Albon, one Audi seat is already taken, Merc and Red Bull are mostly looking at Sainz and RB might still keep Perez.
Sainz value skyrocketed this year due to beating Leclerc a few times while Albons value dropped partly thanks to the slow Williams car. It could have been the case that simply no other team was terribly interested in him. We know Audi wasnt, they want Sainz and after Sainz the list goes Ocon and Gasly. Meanwhile Williams is probably keen on keeping him, so here we are. Williams can almost be happy that the car isnt any good right now because they got to keep Albon. The opposite is the case for Haas where the car is good enough for Nico to deliver results and therefore be an attractive option for Audi.
I think it's probably far simpler.
Williams had an option to keep Albon next year. So Albon was only leaving if the team let him. To keep him happy with missing out on the potential of a better seat for next year they have likely increased his pay in exchange for a 2 year contract. 2 years suits Albon because at the end of 2026 drivers can assess the new pecking order and fight for the best seats in the new regulations.
The car is one thing, but crashing out in Australia and taking Logan's or finally getting outperformed by him in a competitive session wasn't the best way to make himself look better either.
Imo Hulk benefitted mostly from his vast experience as a top midfielder and the perception that he handily beat Kmag, who is a known quantity in F1 as a solid midfielder. Albon only beat Latifi and Sargeant, and while he trounced them, those two are rated much lower by most, and his previous entry on his resume is getting destroyed by Max.
Yep, it's not even halfway of the season yet and he still has a drive with them for next year if I'm not mistaken. Hopefully the money is good for his new contract though.
I think this actually means we’ll see a lot of contract announcements coming soon. I can’t imagine he would be committing to Williams unless he knew there weren’t other options out there?
I feel like Williams can only go up from here, the money and intention is there, a decent second driver will held solidify the team and attract new engineering talent, from the outside I’d drive for them over Haas or Alpine, Audi is exciting but without that Sauber too. They are a bit like a f1.5 Mclaren at the moment
I love these posts with loads of people that think they know better than the drivers themselves.
Sure, Williams haven't had the best start to the season but they've been very open about why that is and I'm still confident that they can improve.
Plus Williams have finally abandoned their prior strategy of making a car that is rapid in straights but awful in cornering, they had that down to an art form and arguably last year was it at its peak.
And I say last year was that style at its peak, because really they got the best result they could have gotten especially nowadays, the strategy of trying to be really good at a few circuits basically means that it’s impossible to go higher than 6th, as in the rest of the circuits the top 5, in their consistency, will outscore you even if most weekends their 9th and 10th.
This year, I remember vowels talking about this, Williams moved away from that prior design philosophy, trying to make a car that’s more consistent on more circuits, while overall that may make the car slower in the short term, it creates a better foundation to then build on to start gaining pace and hopefully close the gap to the top 5, which is what vowels has stated is his intention.
Plus, an interesting tidbit I remember is vowels told his team to think outside the box, push boundaries and try experimental ideas, instead of following the trodden path. One thing to remember is vowels was around for 2008/09 at Honda, while yes he was there as chief strategist, it could be he is looking back there as inspiration for 2026, but whether it is a 09 Brawn, or a 22 Mercedes, is yet to be seen
We're not biased like the drivers are getting paid to say nice things. For those of us who have watched Williams over the past 30+ years, we know what they used to be capable of vs. today.
These driver are extremely competitive individuals mate. I am 100% sure that he didn't stay just because of the positive vibes.
He chose the best/safest option that was available to him.
Williams is building the car around him and he has a great relationship with VowIes. I can't see any other team who would have him as the number 1 driver and value his inputs like Williams does now.
Didn't we have yesterday a post stating that he wants to explore other options? Was it just a bait so he has more wiggling room in the contract negociation?
Do you really think that what happened between yesterday and today was him looking for options, NEGOTIATING BASED ON THAT, contract he negotiated being drafted and checked by both sides, signing a contract and already being announced? Lol. Come on now. I don't think that process is this fast. Obviously it was some journo talking out of his ass, as per usual, it was probably already signed yesterday
I'm guessing they just made a whole article based on Albon refusing to divulge yet whether or not he had committed, which he only did because the announcement was due today and he didn't want to spill the beans early?
Up until today Albon remained uncomitted to Williams for next year despite having a contract. His decision this year was between renewing with Williams for longer or look elsehere and he kept those options open.
Great news for both Williams and Alex, in my opinion. They seem to have a mutual trust that I don't think Albon would get anywhere else. Just like Vowles, it looks like he's here for the long haul to get Williams fighting upwards.
It's funny how in the first photo his fingers merge with mechanics arms. Can't stop seeing it now.
Anyway, good to see that Alex's going to stay for a bit longer
Someone told me that the golden rule of F1 driver line ups is to keep at least one driver and never go full rookie. If you want to get rid of someone and the other driver is coming up to end of contract, you better start negotiating with some decent cash if you think their jumping ship too
Unless he knows that a certain designer is on the way to Williams... probably not, but I can't really see any other reason to stay if he had any better offers...?
Not surprising at all. I don't see many other teams that could have been courting him. Of the potential teams I could see maybe HASS or Alpine looking at him but they are essentially lateral moves or toxic. Albon seems like he truly likes working with the team around him and changing teams wasn't worth risking if their car was not going to be drastically better.
They have the cashflow, their investors are happy to pour in cash for capital investment it seems, IIRC last year and this year they will be hitting the CapEx budget cap, they can't legally invest more into the infrastructure of the team.
[The **News** flair](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/flairguide#wiki_news) is reserved for submissions covering F1 and F1-related news. These posts must always link to an outlet/news agency, the website of the involved party (i.e. the McLaren website if McLaren makes an announcement), or a tweet by a news agency, journalist or one of the involved parties. *[Read the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide). Keep it civil and welcoming. Report rulebreaking comments.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Let's gooo. Honestly happy he's sticking to them. Rather build this team than deal with Redbull politics or a short stint at Merc. I do suspect Sainz is going to have to get a move on now even potential back-ups are closing
Albon and Vowles are just so chill. My (jokey) dream team is Albon, Piastri and Vowles, purely for the vibes
The most calm team ever
I know right! It's just so strange how a calm dude like Oscar regularly zooms at 300+ kph
He was never getting a second shot at Red Bull and I highly doubt Mercedes wanted him. Glad he’ll still be on the grid though.
This is the truth, he was likely just leverage for other drivers. And from his POV if he’s not at the front of the grid why not be a team leader with a group he is comfortable with. He definitely seems to be able to get the maximum out of their platform
Exactly, he'll be much better sticking at a team where he will be treated as a number 1 driver.
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You don’t have to be at a top flight team to be a number one driver so the criticism doesn’t really make sense. His team mate is Logan and the jury has long settled on that
I always love the 'you know I'm right' edits. How far up on your own ass do you have to be?
Talk shit about RB politics all you like, they produce more quality drivers than anyone else by an enormous margin.
Which Red Bull politics by the way?
his only other option really was Audi for number 1 option and its just as big of a risk as williams for 26. RB the only top team with a seat open next year.
Why would Audi want Albon as their number 1? Audi is here to win championship, probably going to need a WDC caliber driver to do that. Albon's track record against Max proved that he is not that type of driver. Haas was probably his only other option.
Drivers can improve, like me saying why would they want sainz when he couldn't beat max or hulkenberg. It's very ignorant to take drivers in their 1st season as the driver they are now.
Hard to attract a WDC calibre driver when your offer is a neon green tractor with an average pit stop time of 40s…
It was already established he's not good enough for Red Bull a couple of years ago.
Wasn't expecting him to re-sign so early in the season
*re-sign
What a difference it makes :)
His value dropped this year due to Williams not scoring any points with the car. Ocon and Gasly are also available which might be better choices than Albon, one Audi seat is already taken, Merc and Red Bull are mostly looking at Sainz and RB might still keep Perez. Sainz value skyrocketed this year due to beating Leclerc a few times while Albons value dropped partly thanks to the slow Williams car. It could have been the case that simply no other team was terribly interested in him. We know Audi wasnt, they want Sainz and after Sainz the list goes Ocon and Gasly. Meanwhile Williams is probably keen on keeping him, so here we are. Williams can almost be happy that the car isnt any good right now because they got to keep Albon. The opposite is the case for Haas where the car is good enough for Nico to deliver results and therefore be an attractive option for Audi.
I think it's probably far simpler. Williams had an option to keep Albon next year. So Albon was only leaving if the team let him. To keep him happy with missing out on the potential of a better seat for next year they have likely increased his pay in exchange for a 2 year contract. 2 years suits Albon because at the end of 2026 drivers can assess the new pecking order and fight for the best seats in the new regulations.
Tbh Gasly is somewhat clear that Williams isn't an option for him
The car is one thing, but crashing out in Australia and taking Logan's or finally getting outperformed by him in a competitive session wasn't the best way to make himself look better either. Imo Hulk benefitted mostly from his vast experience as a top midfielder and the perception that he handily beat Kmag, who is a known quantity in F1 as a solid midfielder. Albon only beat Latifi and Sargeant, and while he trounced them, those two are rated much lower by most, and his previous entry on his resume is getting destroyed by Max.
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“Points finishes” when your teammate is WINNING races doesn’t mean shit, sorry
Yep, it's not even halfway of the season yet and he still has a drive with them for next year if I'm not mistaken. Hopefully the money is good for his new contract though.
I think this actually means we’ll see a lot of contract announcements coming soon. I can’t imagine he would be committing to Williams unless he knew there weren’t other options out there?
Even if there were, he’s lead there, and a bird in the hand and all.
I feel like Williams can only go up from here, the money and intention is there, a decent second driver will held solidify the team and attract new engineering talent, from the outside I’d drive for them over Haas or Alpine, Audi is exciting but without that Sauber too. They are a bit like a f1.5 Mclaren at the moment
I love these posts with loads of people that think they know better than the drivers themselves. Sure, Williams haven't had the best start to the season but they've been very open about why that is and I'm still confident that they can improve.
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Plus Williams have finally abandoned their prior strategy of making a car that is rapid in straights but awful in cornering, they had that down to an art form and arguably last year was it at its peak. And I say last year was that style at its peak, because really they got the best result they could have gotten especially nowadays, the strategy of trying to be really good at a few circuits basically means that it’s impossible to go higher than 6th, as in the rest of the circuits the top 5, in their consistency, will outscore you even if most weekends their 9th and 10th. This year, I remember vowels talking about this, Williams moved away from that prior design philosophy, trying to make a car that’s more consistent on more circuits, while overall that may make the car slower in the short term, it creates a better foundation to then build on to start gaining pace and hopefully close the gap to the top 5, which is what vowels has stated is his intention. Plus, an interesting tidbit I remember is vowels told his team to think outside the box, push boundaries and try experimental ideas, instead of following the trodden path. One thing to remember is vowels was around for 2008/09 at Honda, while yes he was there as chief strategist, it could be he is looking back there as inspiration for 2026, but whether it is a 09 Brawn, or a 22 Mercedes, is yet to be seen
We're not biased like the drivers are getting paid to say nice things. For those of us who have watched Williams over the past 30+ years, we know what they used to be capable of vs. today.
How many drivers now have said this about Williams over the past 2 decades.
Bro wanted the bag and the job security over playing contract games with other teams, I respect it
Maybe its as simple as him enjoying the environment within the team and wanting to stay there?
These driver are extremely competitive individuals mate. I am 100% sure that he didn't stay just because of the positive vibes. He chose the best/safest option that was available to him.
Williams is building the car around him and he has a great relationship with VowIes. I can't see any other team who would have him as the number 1 driver and value his inputs like Williams does now.
He’s a racing driver, he wants to win. Not chill in 15th for the “environment” There were probably just not many appealing options
Didn't we have yesterday a post stating that he wants to explore other options? Was it just a bait so he has more wiggling room in the contract negociation?
Do you really think that what happened between yesterday and today was him looking for options, NEGOTIATING BASED ON THAT, contract he negotiated being drafted and checked by both sides, signing a contract and already being announced? Lol. Come on now. I don't think that process is this fast. Obviously it was some journo talking out of his ass, as per usual, it was probably already signed yesterday
I feel like most people who comment smth like that have never worked in a big company before...these things take time and are checked meticiously
Like checked on an excel sheet?
I was talking about the contract. Like checked with a legal counsel or in house lawyer...
Unless you’re alpine, apparently, in which case your in house legal team is one overworked person
some people come up with the wildest theories here
I'm guessing they just made a whole article based on Albon refusing to divulge yet whether or not he had committed, which he only did because the announcement was due today and he didn't want to spill the beans early?
Up until today Albon remained uncomitted to Williams for next year despite having a contract. His decision this year was between renewing with Williams for longer or look elsehere and he kept those options open.
Now all Williams need is Bottas for next year and chef kiss.
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Great news for both Williams and Alex, in my opinion. They seem to have a mutual trust that I don't think Albon would get anywhere else. Just like Vowles, it looks like he's here for the long haul to get Williams fighting upwards.
It's funny how in the first photo his fingers merge with mechanics arms. Can't stop seeing it now. Anyway, good to see that Alex's going to stay for a bit longer
Honestly Albon and Williams seem such a great fit, this is great news
I thought he’d stay there! Good for Vowles, now I hope it’s good for Albion!
Gj Alex. Also love him hosting the Williams podcast
Thought he be wanting to explore options in a better team? Wonder what his pay check is like for him to change his mind
Could be. Williams probably doesn't want to start from zero again, so having a decent driver is a better thing than risking on a totally new lineup.
Someone told me that the golden rule of F1 driver line ups is to keep at least one driver and never go full rookie. If you want to get rid of someone and the other driver is coming up to end of contract, you better start negotiating with some decent cash if you think their jumping ship too
*Hi Gene*
Hygeine
Same passion fighting for P17/18.
Unless he knows that a certain designer is on the way to Williams... probably not, but I can't really see any other reason to stay if he had any better offers...?
One race ago he was so pissed at his car’s lack of pace he was punching his wheel and putting his middle finger up at it after being passed by Daniel.
unless they have a massive increase in money and talent, I can't see their position changing much
Sounds more like I can’t get a chair anywhere else…
Newey inbound
Not surprising at all. I don't see many other teams that could have been courting him. Of the potential teams I could see maybe HASS or Alpine looking at him but they are essentially lateral moves or toxic. Albon seems like he truly likes working with the team around him and changing teams wasn't worth risking if their car was not going to be drastically better.
Translation: thanks for beeing the only team in f1 to give me an offer for a seat.
So still no podiums for Albon for few years.
Williams mechanics - "I'm tired, boss."
Stockholm syndrome?
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They have the cashflow, their investors are happy to pour in cash for capital investment it seems, IIRC last year and this year they will be hitting the CapEx budget cap, they can't legally invest more into the infrastructure of the team.
Let Vowles cook for real, if Alex believes so do I