Rob Smedley names the F1 driver who has proved everyone wrong in 2025 after facing ‘lots of question marks’ in pre-season

The 2025 Formula 1 season has already brought about many surprises, with two driver swaps and unexpected names at the front of the field.

Oscar Piastri has emerged as a firm favourite for the title after winning four of the opening six races. It was expected that his McLaren teammate would be the main championship contender, but Lando Norris has been ‘nowhere near’ the level of Piastri thus far.

The Aussie leads the standings by 16 points after claiming his third win in a row at the Miami GP. Max Verstappen remains in contention with one win and three poles, while George Russell is also an outsider with solid consistency thus far.

Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli has been hugely impressive in 2025, claiming his maiden F1 pole for the Sprint in Miami. It is a sharp contrast to Lewis Hamilton – the driver he replaced at the Silver Arrows – as he struggles to adapt to the 2025 Ferrari.

The Maranello outfit have struggled for performance this season, already sitting 152 points behind McLaren in the standings. Ferrari even lacked the pace of Williams in Miami, who are enjoying a brilliant start to 2025.

Rob Smedley says Alex Albon has answered ‘lots of question marks’ in 2025

Despite Williams solely focusing on 2026 and the new regulations, the Grove outfit are finding performance in 2025, almost doubling their 2024 points tally after six races.

Alex Albon has played a significant role in that improvement, finishing P5 twice in Melbourne and Miami. Albon is in the ‘form of his life’ according to Martin Brundle as he sits eighth in the standings with 30 points.

The Thai driver had ‘lots of question marks’ around him coming into 2025, especially after the arrival of Carlos Sainz from Ferrari. David Coulthard felt it was ‘make or break’ for Albon this season, expecting him to be beaten by his teammate.

However, it has been the exact opposite at Williams, as Albon has displayed his dominance over Sainz. Speaking via F1 Nation, Rob Smedley says the 28-year-old has answered his critics’ questions from pre-season.

“I also think it’s down to the fact that they’ve now got two very good drivers. Alex Albon, there was lots of question marks from the sidelines about ‘how good was Alex?’

“Because since he got demoted from the Red Bull team, how good were the drivers that he was put up against and how good were the drivers that he was put up against in Williams, especially at the start of his journey.

“That’s now been answered with Carlos, right? Alex is a very good driver, Alex has got his feet under the table. We know how good Carlos is, for me, Carlos is one of the best all-round drivers on the grid, he’s definitely a guy, in a top car, could win a world championship.”

READ MORE: Williams star Alex Albon’s life outside F1 with net worth, girlfriend to parents

The tension between Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz could be a huge problem for Williams

With Albon and Sainz on board, Williams have two perfect drivers to guide them forward in F1’s new era in 2026. However, the line-up could also cause problems.

Albon is getting the better of Sainz in 2025 as the latter struggles to adapt to his new surroundings. The 30-year-old claimed he was losing confidence in Williams as his teammate appeared to ignore team orders in Miami and overtook him.

Albon said there was miscommunication over the radio, which resulted in him ignoring the instruction to stay behind Sainz. While Williams picked up a great haul of points, it was a clear indication of the problems that could arise between the duo.

James Vowles has underestimated the tension between his drivers and cannot afford it to continue if he wants to build the team into a championship contender.