06 February 2024 , 07:00
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Just three years ago, Alex Albon's Formula 1 career was in tatters.
He had been fast-tracked into a Red Bull Racing seat alongside Max Verstappen despite having just 12 races of F1 experience under his belt, for sister team Toro Rosso. Albon lasted 18 months but, at the end of 2020, his seat went to Sergio Perez and he was without a drive for the following year.
It is a situation from which many drivers never recover. Even when, though his Red Bull connections, he landed a Williams seat for 2022, it felt like his chances of driving at the front of the grid again were non-existent. But after just two years representing F1's sleeping giants, the British-Thai racer looks set to play a key role in the 2024 driver market.
Williams have already resisted more than one attempt from a rival to prise their star driver from their grasp. They have been successful on that front so far - Albon will continue to race for the Grove-based squad this year - but it looks increasingly likely that this will be his last with the historic team.
He turns 28 in March which is by no means old for an F1 driver. But this is the point in his career when he needs to make the step up if there is one within reach - and that is certainly the case right now. It seems to be the case the Albon is the number one driver target for several teams up and down the grid who are considering driver changes in the next 12 months.
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And that includes those at the very front. Naturally, he will be heavily linked with Mercedes until the newly-created vacancy there has been filled. And there is no doubting that Albon is a strong candidate to be the one chosen by Toto Wolff to fill the significant space that will be left by Lewis Hamilton when he makes his way to Ferrari at the end of the year.
Interestingly, in recent days, there have been suggestions that his old Red Bull team may have even formalised their own interest. Christian Horner is considering his options to replace under-pressure Perez and bringing back Albon, who knows the team well but is now experienced enough to be able to handle the weight that comes with representing it, will be attractive.
Sources indicate that reports of a three-year Red Bull deal already on the table for Albon are wide of the mark - no-one at the team was able to confirm or deny the suggestion, but knew nothing of a contract offer for their former racer. More than one suggestion was made that it may be a ploy to force Mercedes into action, though that is nothing more than an unsubstantiated theory at present.
What we do know is that the big boys are interested in Albon, and that the feeling is mutual. On Monday, speaking at Williams' 2024 livery reveal event in New York City, he admitted he has a big decision to make. "When you take everything apart all that really matters is your performance - that's all that's going to attract or not attract teams," he said.
"I love working at this team, I love seeing what we're doing, the progress. I want to see how big of a jump we make this year. There is a certain expectation that I have with the car to see how it does but time will tell. Despite Lando [Norris] and Charles [Leclerc] signing up very early this year, there's still a lot of time to make a decision."