Williams driver Alex Albon says that it's 'confidence fulfilling' to know that he's part of the conversation about who will take over from Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2025.
Hamilton confirmed last week that he was leaving the team after 11 years for a new role at Ferrari, leaving a vacancy at Brackley for one in the most coveted spots in motorsport.
Albon is one of the most hotly tipped names in the mix to succeed him, with current betting odds putting him at 2-1 making him second favourite behind Carlos Sainz, who has been bumped out of Ferrari by Hamilton.
Other names in the mix include Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo, Esteban Ocon, Sergio Perez and current Mercedes reserve driver Mick Schumacher, along with F2 driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Former four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel's name has also been mentioned, just over a year after he retired from the sport, but the odds on his making a shock return are said to be 100-1.
But Albon's success at Williams last year have made him a top candidate for the role. Albon previously drove for Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen, and reports over the weekend linked him to a possible return to his old team.
"It’s true the 'silly season' market has moved very, very early compared to normal and people have their building blocks in place already," Albon commented on Monday during the Williams 2024 livery launch event in New York.
"It’s great," he continued when asked how it felt to be one of the big names in the conversation. "In some ways it’s confidence fulfilling to know that there’s talk, but you’re doing you own job at the end of the day."
Albon insisted that all his attention was on achieving another successful season for Williams and not getting distracted.
Alex Albon (THA) Williams Racing FW46
Formula 1 World Championship, Season Launch Studio Shoot, 5th February 2024, Grove, Wantage, England
‘All eyes are on the end of this year really and at that point I’m excited to see where we are," he said. "We’ve got everything in place now to have a good car.
"When you take everything apart, all that really matters is your performance. That’s all that’s gong to attract or not attract teams."
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says he's not going to be rushed into a decision. But at the same time he can't afford to wait too long in case all the best candidates get snapped up by other teams.
Two big names that might otherwise have been in contention - Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris - are effectively out of the running after announcing new long-term deals to stay at Ferrari and McLaren respectively.
The other big piece in next year's driver puzzle is who Verstappen's team mate will be at Red Bull. Sergio Perez was runner-up in the 2023 championship but is seen to be at risk of losing his spot at the end of the forthcoming season.
While Ricciardo is tipped to take back his old seat in that eventually, F1 expert Peter Windsor has reported that Red Bull are already in talks with Albon about bringing the London-born Thai driver back into the fold.
But for his part, Albon says that he's happy where he is with Grove and very much looking forward to the new season starting at the end of February.
"I love working at this team," he said. "I love seeing what we’re doing, the progress. I want to see how big of a jump we make this year. There is a certain expectation that I have with the car to see how it does. But time will tell."
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