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New reports have suggested that Red Bull tried to pursuade former prodigy Alex Albon to return to the team as Sergio Perez's replacement in 2025, but the move could not materalise. Albon last drove for the Austrian team in 2020, and left the group to join Williams in 2022.
While covering Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson's team-swap, F1 reporter Lawrence Barretto reported that Red Bull would be open to bringing Lawson back to the first team if his performances improve, in an article for Formula1.com. Barretto also mentioned that the Austrian team have also never brought a driver back to the senior team that they had previously demoted or fired.
But the Briton also revealed that Red Bull reportedly looked to bring Alex Albon back to the team as Perez's replacement for the 2025 season, in what would have been a shocking comeback for the Thai driver.
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"The Milton Keynes-based squad however have never promoted a driver they have demoted previously, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t. Sources say they attempted to get Albon back for this season as a replacement for Perez but were unsuccessful." [via Formula1.com]
This news was not covered anywhere, while Red Bull were looking for their Checo replacement after the conclusion of the 2024 season. Even Barretto mentioned that this information is speculative and no confirmation has been received to verify this rumour.
Barretto did not mention whether Albon himself rejected the advance from Red Bull, or it was Williams who blocked the move. Regardless, the 29-year-old has stayed put at the team from Grove, partnering his new teammate Carlos Sainz, in 2025.
Alex Albon shared his struggles of adjusting with being Max Verstappen's teammate at Red Bull
Speaking in December 2023, Alex Albon explained that he struggled to cope with the 'sharp' Red Bull car, which made Max Verstappen go even faster. The Williams man also explained how the Dutchman's unique driving style means not many other drivers can get along with car in the same way.
Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Albon shared how he felt being Verstappen's teammate.
"I like a car that has a good front end, so quite sharp, quite direct. Max does too, but his level of sharp and direct is a whole different level, it's eye-watering," said Albon. "You start off being a little bit behind, but not by much. And as the season goes on, Max wants this front end in the car, he wants it to be sharper. And as it goes sharper and sharper, he goes quicker and quicker, and for you to catch up, you have to start taking a little bit more risk." he added.
Albon then explained that taking more risks lead to more incidents out on the track, and that can lead to losing your confidence in yourself and the car. This may be an explanation as to why most of Verstappen's teammates have failed to make a solid impression for a sustained period of time.
The Thai driver also compared driving a Verstappen-suited car to having the sensitivity of your computer mouse at the maximum, which makes the cursor uncontrollable and go all over the place.
