Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko has revealed that George Russell was never considered as an option to replace Alex Albon.

The young Brit enjoyed an excellent season with Williams, consistently putting his backmarker car into the second qualifying session, before qualifying second on the grid at the Sakhir Grand Prix in the Mercedes and leading much of the race.

Following his impressive showing in a frontrunning car, some suggested that Red Bull should move to snap up the Mercedes Academy driver to replace the struggling Albon.

Asked whether Russell had ever been targetted, Marko told Motorsport.com: “No. He has a ten-year contract with Toto Wolff. He is a Mercedes junior. We were looking for an interim solution for one year. Perez is the much better option there.”

“Russell is an intelligent and fast young man,” he added. “His Mercedes effort was great. But at the same time, it was marked by such uncertainty from Bottas that it wasn’t really a valid comparison. Bottas put together such crap from the first lap on Friday, that he was way below his normal level.”

Russell will remain with Williams for the 2021 season, while Sergio Perez is set to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull.