How Sainz's arrival propels Albon and Williams into 2025

Having lost his Ferrari seat to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, Sainz had become the most attractive driver on the market for 2025. Williams beat Sauber and Alpine to sign the Spaniard.

Signing a Grand Prix winner is a major win for Williams, who have been fielding less experienced drivers alongside Albon in recent years.

This presented a serious test for Albon. The Thai driver responded to the challenge with the most consistent season of his career. Albon had 54 points in the standings, while Sainz only managed 16. This was due primarily to reliability issues and strategy errors.

Carlos Sainz, Williams

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Assessing the first half of the season, Albon told Motorsport.com: "I have nothing to complain about in terms of my performance. I was consistent every weekend, I didn't have a bad weekend. I even had strong peaks."

"I evaluate my own performance more internally. I think I did my job this season and executed it well. The team gave me a very good car, and I managed to get some outstanding results like fifth and sixth. My training method is the same as in previous years, just small improvements, as every year. Overall, I'm proud of myself because I've been very consistent."

"It was inevitable that the media would focus on Carlos at the start of the season. It was great to add someone with experience and speed to the team."

"He immediately became a benchmark for me as well. How you take that energy is up to you. It can be positive or negative. I chose the positive side and always wanted Carlos to join the team. My previous teammates had strong moments, but it's very different to have someone like Carlos, who had a strong season at Ferrari, as a reference."

Alexander Albon, Williams

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Under team boss James Vowles, Williams has started the season stronger than it has in a long time, focusing on a long-term vision for 2026 and beyond, while also addressing numerous shortcomings in its development process. This has helped them maintain fifth place in the constructors' championship heading into the summer break.

Albon said fifth place in the opening race in Australia was a turning point for the team: "We started the season really well."

"Fifth place gave the team a boost of energy and made everyone feel more comfortable. We said, 'Okay, this will work. We have a good car.' We saw that we were fast in winter testing in Bahrain, and Melbourne confirmed that."

"From now on, we were able to focus on the season. We didn't have to resort to risky strategies to score points like in previous years. If we do a clean run and do good laps in qualifying, we'll be fine for the rest of the year."