As if their constant bickering over the title fight wasn't enough, Christian Horner and Toto Wolff are now engaged in a war of words over Alex Albon's potential move to Williams.

Seemingly under instructions from the energy drink company's Thai owners, Red Bull is seeking a seat for Alex Albon in 2022.

Only two seats appear viable, one at Alfa Romeo and the other at Williams.

It would appear that the Grove outfit is Red Bull's preferred option, but Horner claims that Mercedes would block the deal due to Albon's ties to the Austrian manufacturer.

"We are working really hard to get him a seat," he told Sky Sports, "I really hope that Mercedes don't block his opportunity at Williams because of his links to Red Bull.

"That would be a great shame if a driver were to pay the penalty for that," he added. "But hopefully that won't come to play.

"Alfa and Williams are the two that are showing a lot of interest," he admitted, "I think his preference would be Williams. But obviously there are a few hurdles.

"He's had about four phone calls telling him not to go there from the team next door," he said, referring to Mercedes in the adjacent garage. "I told him to ignore them.

"There are opportunities in a couple of teams, and our priority is to see him racing next year. If we can't do that, then he'll still be with us in a test and reserve role because we rate him extremely highly."

"I would never block someone like Alex Albon," said Wolff, who, until last year's buy-out by Dorilton Capital retained a stake in Williams. "He's a fantastic guy, his personality is great.

"I was personally sad to see him going," added the Austrian, who is known to be looking for a seat for Formula E champion Nyck de Vries. "And if he has to be driving in a Formula 1 car, I think that's the right thing to do.

"But equally, maybe Nyck has," he continued. "So we need to look at the open spaces at Alfa and at Williams and try to find a solution.

"Nyck has a guaranteed seat in Formula E with us and I'm in two minds," he added. "I wish him to be in Formula One but I don't want to lose him for our Formula E campaign."

"We'll accommodate whatever we can to ensure that he's back in a race seat next year," said Horner, when asked if Red Bull would release the youngster from his contract is needed, however it is understood the company's Thai owners would underwrite his salary if taken on by a rival team.

Though Yuki Tsunoda says his chances of remaining at AlphaTauri are "50/50", the Japanese youngster has the backing of Honda.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Hobgoblin, 06/09/2021 7:43

"So it's now Mercedes responsibility to give Albon a drive is it? and this takes precedence over their own driver programme?
I'd love to see him back in F1, but this is Red Bull's problem."

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2. Posted by Spindoctor, 05/09/2021 12:41

"I can sort of see why Mercedes aren't that keen on a driver contracted to a Rival team & PU supplier having access to their proprietary information. I'm less sure why Horner & Red bull are soo keen for a driver who's not good enough for either of Red Bull's teams to drive for Williams.

Horner claims that RB will "accommodate" whatever Albon needs to be in F1, which I assume means releasing him from contract. This should placate Wolf, so as is often the case with RBR this seems to be all sound & fury signifying nothing.

"

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3. Posted by kenji, 05/09/2021 2:30

"I find that this exercise between Mercedes and Red Bull really stretches the concept of 'competitive advantage'. It is, IMO, wrong that a competitor in a so called WC sporting competition event can dictate to a competitor just who can and cannot drive in that competitor's car.! I can only presume that it is legal to enter into this arrangement whereby Williams accept that in order to run the Mercede's PU they cannot designate who actually drives their car unless the 'competitor/ supplier' team agrees!! Surely that tests the concept 'unfair competition'. It also smacks of outside/3rd party control. I would love to see this contested as it appears that Albon's career is being manipulated by a team that he has absolutely no connection. Dorilton have no say in their choice of drivers. What an odious situation."

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4. Posted by Oil Leak77, 04/09/2021 10:20

"So much for Mercedes wanting diversity in the sport. Only one race seems to matter in their political gesturing for the last 2 seasons. "

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Wolff denies that he would block Albon move to Williams

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