"No, thanks": Alex Albon reportedly turned down an offer to rejoin the Red Bull F1 family 

Alex Albon reportedly turned down an offer to return to the Red Bull F1 family, as per reports by Yhacbec López - an FIA-accredited journalist. The Briton currently drives for Williams, after leaving the Red Bull driver program at the end of 2021.

Albon is currently in flying form, despite not having the car to back up his stellar skills. The Thai-British driver is able to maximize performance from his Williams F1 car, unlike his rookie teammate Logan Sargeant, who is currently struggling.

Albon reportedly played a part in Max Verstappen's title success against Lewis Hamilton back in 2021 and was heard congratulating the Dutchman on the radio after he crossed the line in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2021.

However, Alex Albon's past with Red Bull hasn't always been full of sunshine, with the Briton being sacked as a full-time driver earlier in his career. Perhaps that is the reason why the Williams driver reportedly has no plans to return to Red Bull in the near future, as per Yhacbec López.

Lopez wrote 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..."

Williams team principal on Alex Albon

Williams team principal James Vowles claims Albon is the perfect benchmark for 2023 rookie Logan Sargeant. The Thai-British driver is driving much better than the rookie, but according to Vowles, he is also helping the young American in various ways.

Vowles claims that the Briton is not the kind of driver who is putting Sargeant down despite being much faster than him. Instead, Vowles says, Alex Albon is helping Sargeant get to grips with the Williams F1 car.

Vowles told the Beyond The Grid podcast:

"I don't think he is a difficult benchmark; he is a perfect benchmark. He is not here to actually push down your teammate to elevate yourself; he is here to perform in the car, which everybody does every weekend, and he gives Logan a reference."

He continued:

"But Alex is more than happy to help with advice and guidance, providing Logan a step up to find out some of the performance that could not be on the table on certain points."

With the pair getting along nicely, it will be interesting to watch Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant's campaign over the remainder of the year.