17/05/2024
NEWS STORY
With Alex Albon tied down for the foreseeable future, James Vowles admits to looking at three potential teammates for the next couple of seasons.
With the Anglo-Thai driver talking of his belief that the Grove outfit will come good and will actually benefit from the forthcoming rules overhaul, one might presume that current teammate Logan Sargeant is not part of the grand plan, but speaking to the media in Imola, the Vowles refused to rule the American out.
"I don't want to sully what I think is a really positive message, that we have someone committing to the long-term future of Williams," he said. "I'm looking, at the moment, at about three options for 2025 and 2026. It's as simple as that.
"When we're in a position where I can talk about it openly, which won't be long, we will do," he added.
"For now, the direction of travel is we know that we need to be performing at the highest level," he continued. "Logan has control in his hands in making sure he's performing at that level. That's his ability to control. I haven't taken that away from him. But what's clear is we also need to be talking to others, and we are."
Kimi Antonelli is known to be high on Williams 'wish list' - indeed, there was talk of the Italian replacing Sargeant later in the season - but Toto Wolff insists that he doesn't want the youngster pushed too hard, too soon.
While there has been talk of Valtteri Bottas returning to the team with which he made his F1 debut, Alpine's Esteban Ocon has also been linked with the Grove outfit.
Check out our Friday gallery from Imola here.