In the wake of Lewis Hamilton’s shock move to Ferrari, Albon has become hot property.

The 27-year-old impressed in 2023, leading Williams to seventh in the constructors’ championship.

In doing so, he demonstrated that the ghosts of his stint with Red Bull Racing have been vanquished.

As such, he’s been heavily linked with a move back to Milton Keynes to partner Max Verstappen from next season, replacing the out-of-contract Sergio Perez.

Albon has also been touted as a possible replacement for Hamilton at Mercedes – a relationship with Toto Wolff already exists.

And while neither of those is impossible, Vowles noted one not insignificant hurdle would need to be cleared first.

“Alex is signed in Williams until the end of 2025,” Vowles told invited media, including Speedcafe, as part of the launch of the FW46.

“It’s not something I’ve been very public about because I don’t feel the need to, so any reports that you’re seeing, and there’s one in particular, they’re individually speculating, at best.”

Albon joined Williams in 2022 after spending 2021 on the sidelines.

That followed a difficult entry into Formula 1 in 2019, where he was promoted from Toro Rosso to the senior Red Bull Racing team mid-season.

He was then comprehensively beaten by team-mate Verstappen and dropped at the end of the season – spending the following campaign racing an AlphaTauri-backed Ferrari in DTM.

Since joining Williams, he has rediscovered the form that saw him catch Red Bull Racing’s attention in the first place and become a key figure at Williams as Vowles works to rebuild the team.

“It is our job in Williams to create an environment that deserves someone of the calibre of Alex. Simple as that,” Vowles declared.

“I’ve said that from the beginning, and I can still maintain that he is an incredible driver that deserves his place towards the front.

“He did drives last year that I’ve already commented on. They’re no different than some of the other champions I’ve worked with.

“He and I have good chats about where we want to move forward, and where we want to move forward is we want to have our journey together in this team for a long time.

“We have to earn that right,” he added.

“It’s not a given by any stretch of the imagination, nor should it really be, for that matter.

“We have to demonstrate to the world that we’re not the Williams of old, and we’re not moving backwards. We’re moving forward continuously.”

The challenge in Williams retaining Albon should one of the bigger teams look to swoop for him is that contracts in F1 are famously negotiable.

McLaren paid Daniel Ricciardo out of the final year of his contract, similar to the manner Ferrari despatched with Kimi Raikkonen to make room for Fernando Alonso.

This week, Lewis Hamilton exercised a clause in his contract that freed him to leave Mercedes despite having a year to run on his current deal.

Stopping Albon from departing is, therefore, difficult, though not impossible.

“Would I stand in his way? I have the responsibility of Williams on my shoulder,” Vowles said of the potential of Albon leaving despite holding a contract for 2025.

“It’s not the responsibility towards one individual, in this case Alex, it’s a responsibility towards the team.

“So, should any decision go that way, it’s because I’m very clear in my mind that I’ve made decisions that are correct for the team’s long-term goals, not short.”