04/09/2021
NEWS STORY
As if their constant bickering over the title fight wasn't enough, Christian Horner and Toto Wolff are now engaged in a war of words over Alex Albon's potential move to Williams.
Seemingly under instructions from the energy drink company's Thai owners, Red Bull is seeking a seat for Alex Albon in 2022.
Only two seats appear viable, one at Alfa Romeo and the other at Williams.
It would appear that the Grove outfit is Red Bull's preferred option, but Horner claims that Mercedes would block the deal due to Albon's ties to the Austrian manufacturer.
"We are working really hard to get him a seat," he told Sky Sports, "I really hope that Mercedes don't block his opportunity at Williams because of his links to Red Bull.
"That would be a great shame if a driver were to pay the penalty for that," he added. "But hopefully that won't come to play.
"Alfa and Williams are the two that are showing a lot of interest," he admitted, "I think his preference would be Williams. But obviously there are a few hurdles.
"He's had about four phone calls telling him not to go there from the team next door," he said, referring to Mercedes in the adjacent garage. "I told him to ignore them.
"There are opportunities in a couple of teams, and our priority is to see him racing next year. If we can't do that, then he'll still be with us in a test and reserve role because we rate him extremely highly."
"I would never block someone like Alex Albon," said Wolff, who, until last year's buy-out by Dorilton Capital retained a stake in Williams. "He's a fantastic guy, his personality is great.
"I was personally sad to see him going," added the Austrian, who is known to be looking for a seat for Formula E champion Nyck de Vries. "And if he has to be driving in a Formula 1 car, I think that's the right thing to do.
"But equally, maybe Nyck has," he continued. "So we need to look at the open spaces at Alfa and at Williams and try to find a solution.
"Nyck has a guaranteed seat in Formula E with us and I'm in two minds," he added. "I wish him to be in Formula One but I don't want to lose him for our Formula E campaign."
"We'll accommodate whatever we can to ensure that he's back in a race seat next year," said Horner, when asked if Red Bull would release the youngster from his contract is needed, however it is understood the company's Thai owners would underwrite his salary if taken on by a rival team.
Though Yuki Tsunoda says his chances of remaining at AlphaTauri are "50/50", the Japanese youngster has the backing of Honda.
Check out our Saturday gallery from Zandvoort, here.