Carlos Sainz pushed Alex Albon and Williams ahead in F1 2025

Williams driver Alex Albon says he took Carlos Sainz’s high-profile arrival at Williams as a constructive because the pair pushes each one another and the staff ahead forward of Method 1’s 2026 overhaul.

After dropping his Ferrari seat to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, Sainz out of the blue turned probably the most enticing free agent available on the market for 2025, with Williams beating Sauber and Alpine to the Spaniard’s signature. 

The signing of a confirmed grand prix winner was an enormous coup for Williams, which had beforehand fielded a sequence of much less skilled drivers as Albon’s team-mate together with Logan Sargeant, Franco Colapinto and Nicholas Latifi. 

He additionally introduced an enormous take a look at for incumbent Albon, who responded to the problem along with his most persistently sturdy season so far, edging his team-mate in qualifying by 8-6 to date. That comes with the caveat that Sainz wanted time to gel along with his new equipment, which was very completely different to drive in contrast with the Ferrari he was accustomed to.

Albon’s 54 factors additionally places him properly forward of Sainz’s 16, though the latter has confronted the brunt of the reliability points and technique slip-ups to date, resulting in a number of missed alternatives so as to add to his tally. 

Sitting down with Motorsport.com to overview his 2025 season to date, Albon stated: “I am unable to complain when it comes to my very own efficiency. I really feel like I have been in a position to have stable weekends and there is by no means been a weekend that is gone disastrously. They’ve at all times had sturdy peaks, as an example. 

“I am fairly inner when it comes to how I validate my very own performances. I really feel like I’ve simply been getting on with my very own job and executing properly. The staff has given me an ideal automobile, and I have been in a position to do these P5s and P6s; outcomes that stand out. 

“I really assume my course of and the best way I work has been an identical since my earlier years. There have been small enhancements, as there are yearly, however I am pleased with myself to date this 12 months. I believe it has been actually constant.” 

“I really feel like we have gone about our methods pretty quietly, not making errors, executing stable weekends, taking benefits of moments, whether or not it is with technique or circumstances, simply being very stable.” 

Having been Williams’ bedrock for years, Albon says he took the flurry of consideration on Sainz “as a constructive” and located his new team-mate to be each an ideal benchmark for him on the monitor, and for the squad as a complete off the monitor due to Sainz’s prime staff know-how and technical capacity. 

Alexander Albon, Williams

Photograph by: Zak Mauger / LAT Photographs by way of Getty Photographs

“I believe it is inevitable,” Albon stated concerning the media highlight shifting to his team-mate in the beginning of the 12 months. “It was a incredible signing for the staff to have somebody with Carlos’ expertise and his pace. And clearly he turned an instantaneous benchmark for me. 

“Then it is as much as the motive force to form of go: ‘How do I take that vitality?’ You possibly can take it positively or negatively. I imagine I took it positively and I at all times wished Carlos to affix the staff. And on my facet, he was an ideal benchmark, as a result of I generally felt virtually discredited with the team-mates I had earlier than. I believe Logan, Franco and Nicholas have at all times been sturdy drivers in moments of their profession at Williams, and it was good to form of have somebody like Carlos, who got here off a robust 12 months from Ferrari.” 

Below staff boss James Vowles, Williams’ long-term deal with 2026 and past additionally helped the Grove-based squad discover loads of low-hanging fruit to revamp its growth pathways, permitting it to start out the 12 months on the entrance foot for the primary time in years, and maintain fifth positioned within the constructors’ desk into the summer season break. 

“We clearly began the 12 months in a very good place,” stated Albon, who claimed three prime 5 finishes as a part of his 9 grand prix factors finishes. “That P5 [in the Australia season opener] simply created that nice vitality, but additionally settled everybody. ‘Okay, we are able to do that, we have now automobile.’ 

“We noticed in winter testing in Bahrain we had automobile, Melbourne cemented that. After which we might simply get into our season. And it isn’t been a season like others, the place we have needed to take dangers and do various things when it comes to technique to get factors. So long as we preserve it clear and we do job, do job in qualifying, we’ll be okay for the remainder of the 12 months.”