F1: Albon confirms two options for 2022 return

(GMM) Alex Albon admits he is waiting for confirmation that he will return to the Formula 1 grid in 2022.

At Zandvoort, recent rumors became more concrete about Red Bull’s talks with Williams and Alfa Romeo about a potential race seat for Albon next year.

“My goal is to return to Formula 1 and there are a couple of options,” the British-born Thai driver told German broadcaster Sat1.

“I hope everything will work out but at the moment the situation is changing every day. So far it looks positive though.

“Helmut Marko and Christian Horner completely support me. Thanks to them, I’m in a situation where I can get a contract as a race driver.”

Alexander Albon of Thailand and Red Bull Racing talks in the Pitlane with RB Leipzig players Emil Forsberg, Tyler Adams, Konrad Laimer and Philipp Tschauner before the F1 Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring on August 01, 2021 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

There are even rumors that Albon could in fact return to Alpha Tauri so that the impressive Pierre Gasly can take over from Sergio Perez at the senior team.

Ralf Schumacher also senses that possibility.

“Normally, a driver like Sergio Perez should be more confident after signing a new contract, but somehow it’s not working out for him,” he told Sky Deutschland.

“Bottas could help Mercedes but Perez couldn’t help Red Bull,” Schumacher said at Zandvoort. “They have to do something about that.”

Marko admits that Max Verstappen’s Mexican teammate is still struggling, as he did when he qualified so poorly on Saturday.

“The level of the drivers and the teams goes up through a season, so you can’t afford to make a mistake like that,” he said.

“I hope that we are better positioned in Monza.”

More likely, however, is that Albon will race for a non-Red Bull team next year, with the next round of official announcements due in the coming days.

“I don’t know if it will be this week or next week, but almost all of the details have been settled,” Alfa Romeo team boss Frederic Vasseur said.

“We will make a statement before Monza or Sochi.”

According to Finnish racing personality Toni Vilander, Valtteri Bottas’ refusal to refrain from setting the fastest lap towards the end of the Dutch GP is a clear sign that he is set to be replaced by George Russell for 2022.

“I don’t think Valtteri has much to lose now,” he told C More. “It is a fact that when the instruction came from Mercedes, Valtteri did not follow it.”

Canal Plus in France claims that Alfa Romeo will announce its 2022 driver lineup on Monday, with Mercedes following suit a day later.