Wouter wrote: ↑03 Feb 2024, 17:45
Albon had a contract at Williams until the end of '25. Now it seems they will let him go after this '24 saison.
Probably means that 2025 always merely was an option on Albons side.
My point is, if Red Bull indeed saw Albon as their next driver they should've pulled the trigger and bought him out of his Williams contract and got him for 2024. Mercedes did the same with Bottas. Williams is years away from being competitive, they don't have the moral highground to stand in a young drivers way to become successful.
But of course that is expensive for Red Bull. It's also expensive to terminate Perez and potentially lose some sponsors. But maybe they should've spend that money instead of saving it. Ferrari is certainly spending their way to success. Although that's for 2025, not 2024.
Red Bull will likely think Perez is good enough for 24 because Verstappen will deliver the championships on his own. They also have major funds already going to Powertrains and VCARB, so they might not want to further increase that expenditure. But at least they could've used 2024 to let Albon get accustomed to the pressure of racing at the front again, against proper rivals.
Now it seems Red Bull is at a crossroad where they need to decide quickly if they want to sign Albon for 2025 before a rival team does, or indeed hope for Ricciardo to redeem himself. Either way its not very bold, not very decisive.
But then again, maybe the figure they mustn't be decisive as long as they have the best car and Max. Plenty of pennies saved if Ricciardo does come good. Or if Albon isn't signed by a rival in front of their eyes. But AR3-GP was mentioning complacency and I think the risk Red Bull is taking less than inspiring. They might end up with a situation where Mercedes signs Albon and Ricciardo doesn't deliver. Then what?
As a fan I would've loved them to be more bold and most of all get rid of Perez
