James Vowles will feel Williams have the strongest line-up in F1’s midfield, and one of the best on the grid, after the signing of Carlos Sainz. He pairs the multiple race-winner with the highly-rated Alex Albon.
Among the drivers at the bottom five teams, Sainz has the best record. Haas’ Esteban Ocon and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly are the only others who have won races (one apiece).
In addition to his four victories, the Spaniard has notched six pole positions and 27 podiums. Combined, the line-ups at Alpine, Haas, Racing Bulls and Sauber have scored nine top-three finishes.
Like Sainz, Albon is a product of the Red Bull driver academy. But while the Spaniard left of his own accord, joining Renault after losing out on a promotion to Max Verstappen, Albon lost his seat.
He didn’t feature on the 2021 grid but Williams gave him another chance in 2022. He proceeded to thrash Nicholas Latifi and Logan Sargeant, leading the team to an impressive seventh place in the 2023 standings.
But Albon now faces his toughest teammate assignment since taking on Verstappen at Red Bull in 2019 and 2020. And it could define the rest of his F1 career.
F1 fans concerned that Williams will focus on Carlos Sainz instead of Alex Albon
From 1 January, Williams were officially able to claim Sainz as one of their drivers. His contract with Ferrari was at an end.
They marked his arrival with a cinematic video on their social media channels. It features footage collected from Sainz’s filming day at Yas Marina following the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
And it ends with ‘2025 begins now’ fading to ’55 begins now’, a reference to Sainz’s driver number. Some F1 fans fear for Albon after seeing the video.
One was shocked that Albon was ‘not in this at all’, while another feels ‘poor Alex deserves better’. Williams were told their caption – ‘2025, the fight starts now’ – was ‘very weird’ because it suggested that the video was about the team as a whole.
Some even raised doubts about Albon’s long-term F1 future. One has a ‘very strong feeling’ he won’t feature on the 2026 grid, while a fellow F1 fan declared ‘it’s so over’.
Finally, @jojo_chep asked ‘where’s team 23 at’, pointing instead to Albon’s number. It seems Williams were just trying to welcome their new signing, but they may not have executed it perfectly.
Was Alex Albon the most overrated F1 driver in 2024?
Juan Pablo Montoya says Franco Colapinto could replace Albon midway through 2025. Clearly, the sentiment above isn’t confined to social media.
Albon beat Colapinto 7-2 in their mini qualifying head-to-head, and also scored eight points to his five. But the close margin between the two was a source of surprise.
That’s why one F1 expert argued that Albon was F1’s most overrated driver last year. A more competitive teammate may have exposed his limitations, and Colapinto remains a distinct threat from the third-driver role.
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