"Negotiations were not so difficult" - Williams F1 on signing Alex Albon from Red Bull

Signing former Red Bull driver Alex Albon was not as difficult as it appeared, according to Williams CEO Jost Capito. The Thai-British driver spent a year on the sidelines after racing for a year and a half with the Milton Keynes-based team.

Capito has over three decades of experience in motorsports and had a brief stint in F1 with McLaren in 2016.

The 63-year-old revealed the details behind Albon's acquisition from Red Bull during an interview with formel1.de in Germany. He said:

“I discussed most of the issues with Christian (Horner), and Red Bull really wanted Alex (Albon) to find an F1 seat. That’s why the negotiations were not so difficult: they wanted to support him in his search for a seat, and we wanted Alex.”

Capito also touched on Mercedes boss Toto Wolff's initial concerns about the move. Williams' cars are powered by Mercedes power units in F1. As a result, Wolff was apprehensive about a driver with Red Bull ties having access to their intellectual property (IP).

A multitude of clauses was revealed in September 2021 surrounding Albon's move from Red Bull to Williams to protect Mercedes' aforementioned IP.

When asked about the potential hurdles that cropped up, however, Capito said:

“Toto (Wolff) also has no problem with Alex leaving Red Bull to join us. It wasn’t as hard as it looked from the outside.”

Albon is set to drive alongside Canadian Nicholas Latifi for Williams in 2022. Red Bull has chosen to continue with world champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez as their driver pair.

There is talk of Pierre Gasly being up for the second seat at Red Bull once Perez's contract ends. As of now, however, the Frenchman will race for Alpha Tauri alongside Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda.

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Red Bull's Honda partnership to reportedly continue until 2025

Reports have emerged claiming Honda will remain active in F1 and continue their partnership with Red Bull until 2025. The Japanese manufacturers stand to leave F1 as of December 2021 after a thrilling season that culminated with a world championship for Max Verstappen.

A report by Racingnews365 has suggested that Honda will supply Red Bull's engines until the end of the current hybrid era i.e. 2025. The team will, however, not feature Honda or any sub-brand's name on the cars.

The report also claims this will not affect Honda, who wants to leave motorsport owing to climate change and global warming concerns around it.