Why Albon could be F1's most important driver this year

Alex Albon has had a phoenix-from-the-flames career in F1 so far.The Thai-Briton found his way onto grid with what was Toro Rossofor the 2019 season, only to find himself drafted into the Red Bullline-up as Pierre Gasly's replacement midway through the season.Despite a few glimpses of what Albon is capable of, the bestresults often slipped away - including those two incidents withLewis Hamilton in Brazil and Austria. A year out of the sport in2021 came after he was dropped by Red Bull, owing to theperformance gap between him and teammate Max Verstappen. Yet a moveto Williams reignited his chances and last season, he demonstratedstunning form that now leaves him as F1's most important driver.Here's why... 2025 driver market The grid for the new F1 seasonremains static from the end of last season in what is a highlyunusual occurrence for the sport. But with such stability comes awelter of contracts to run out at the end of the season - no lessthan 10 known to be expiring with Red Bull, Ferrari and Alpine allcurrently with at least one opening available. As usually is thecase with the silly season, which traditionally kicks in around thesummer break, one key skittle must fall for the rest to follow andonly when the kingpin tumbles does the picture become clearer forthe entire sport. In this case, you would expect Sergio Perez to bethe trigger for silly season given his precarious situation withRed Bull after his struggles throughout last year's championship.But it is often the case that the critical impact is made by whichdriver is signed rather than which driver is dropped and thereforethe spotlight will be on which driver is Christian Horner's choiceto partner Verstappen. It is not out of the realms of possibilitythat Albon could be that driver given his performances last season.Albon not only displayed sheer pace on track - enough to collect 27points and 13th in the Drivers' standings - but also strongleadership off-track, working closely with the technical team tohelp push Williams' machinery up the grid. It was a marked step forhim given the improvement shown by the Grove-based outfit comparedto the year previous. Most onlookers were expecting Williams toagain prop up the grid, yet the FW45 found itself with plenty ofpace, even if it was largely circuit-dependent. Williamsimprovement? The fact Albon now possesses a dual threat for teamsto buy into is a major bonus. Added to this he has now cleaned upthe frequent errors that hampered his progression with Red Bull andthe case can be made for a return to the top of the grid. For ateam such as Red Bull or even Ferrari, Albon is probably thebest-placed driver potentially looking for a move that can offerpace, experience, leadership and, most importantly, consistency. Heis now a known quantity and would be an asset for every teamcurrently in F1. But to underline his stance as the 'kingpin',Albon must continue his trajectory from last year, push forwardwith Williams and only then can he present himself in a position ofpower. Nothing is guaranteed, of course, whether it be Albon'sperformance or Williams' improvement. The silly season overviewwill look entirely different if the team improves sufficiently tolead its driver to believe it can challenge for podiums andvictories in the coming years. It has strengthened its enginerelationship with Mercedes and Team Principal James Vowles has beenhard at work planning improvements to the management team andinfrastructure - Pat Fry the notable name already to have joined.So if the team could, for example, breach the top five in theConstructors' standings this term, Albon may be persuaded to stay.Of course, the grid would still likely change with or withoutAlbon's input but his likely step up from Williams means he willlikely be the trigger point for silly season bedlam.