Alex Albon option removed for Red Bull as Sergio Perez continues to wait on F1 future

Sergio Perez has revealed that he’s no closer to signing a new Red Bull F1 deal despite Alex Albon committing his future to Williams.

Ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Williams announced that Albon had signed a new multi-year deal, keeping him with the team until at least 2027.

Albon was a leading contender to potentially replace Perez given his prior links to the team.

Albon spent just over a season alongside Max Verstappen between 2019 and 2020 before being dropped for the subsequent season.

The Thai driver returned to F1 in 2022 with Williams, guiding the team to their best finish in some time last year with P7 in the championship.

With Albon off the market, Perez’s bid to secure another year at Red Bull grows stronger.

Giving an update on his future at Imola, Perez said: “Still nothing has been signed. Everything is still open. I believe very strongly.

“We are getting into a very intense part of the season and I want to get it out of the way because I think it’s important we focus on the racing side.

“I hope sooner than later everything can be finalised and we can show it.”

Perez downplayed the impact of not having his future sorted, stating “there’s always pressure” in F1.

“I think Formula One there’s always pressure regardless of if you have a deal or not, you always have to perform,” he added.

“Especially Red Bull, it’s a very heavy pressure environment. So it doesn’t change. I believe sooner rather than later we will know what I’m doing.”

Perez also didn’t rule out speaking to other teams, he concluded: “Until nothing is signed, everything is an option.”