Alex Albon will return to the Formula 1 grid in 2022, having secured a drive with Williams as the replacement for George Russell, who leaves the Grove-based team to join Mercedes. After losing his seat at Red Bull Racing and spending 2021 on the sidelines, Albon found a cockpit for 2022 with the company's help, having maintained his links by acting as reserve and simulator driver for both Red Bull and AlphaTauri. But Albon had been weighing up a switch to IndyCar, or moving to Formula E, and he explained that Williams had done enough to convince him that signing with them was the right choice. "Looking at Williams, obviously the first thing is they look like they're on the up, they've got the investment coming in," Albon told Speedweek. "I've also had the chance to visit the team and everyone seems very positive and optimistic. "They were very keen to talk to me and to get involved in making this happen. It seemed like a great choice to get back onto the grid." Albon appeared to have laid the groundwork for a switch to the IndyCar series for next year, having visited Romain Grosjean and the IndyCar paddock at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the summer break. Having got some attention from team bosses within the series, Albon said IndyCar was a very tempting option, more so than the Formula E championship in which he signed up to race in with Nissan for 2019 before Red Bull came calling. "IndyCar at the time attracted me more so than Formula E," said Albon. "I went to Indianapolis to watch the racing and I liked it. I had a chat with Romain as well about it and it looked exciting, but my priority was always Formula 1. "The other thing about that is that Formula 1 can wait because the decisions happen quite late compared to the other series. "It was a quite a tricky balance to have, where you're trying to keep options open while the Formula 1 seats and movement and musical chairs were still happening."
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