The Spanish Grand Prix was a mixed bag for some drivers, rewarding those who took advantage of the late Safety Car to pit for fresh tyres.
Nico Hulkenberg managed to climb up to fifth place, passing seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari at the restart and scoring Sauber’s first points of the season.
Isack Hadjar also continued his run of scoring points for Racing Bulls and finishing ahead of Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda, climbing up to seventh after starting from ninth place on the grid.
After a series of unfortunate races, Fernando Alonso also finally scored points for Aston Martin after finishing in ninth place.
While there was a decent points haul for some, Nico Rosberg believes one driver had a ‘horrible’ race when speaking on Sky Sports F1.
Nico Rosberg brands Alex Albon’s race as ‘horrible’
Alex Albon went from finishing in the top four in Imola after an impressive race, to getting knocked out in Q1 and retiring from the race in Spain.
Albon, who is currently on a £6.5m-a-year deal with Williams, had a poor start and found himself towards the rear of the pack, then made contact with Liam Lawson, which broke his front wing.
Rosberg highlighted the moment that it all went wrong for Albon, having suffered his first retirement of the year.
“What a horrible Sunday that is. Even to get the message that it’s going so bad Alex, just retire the car and give up, and we’ll let your teammate have a chance of scoring points,” said Rosberg.
“Not a good weekend from Alex. We’ve praised him so much, he’s done such a fantastic season so far, he already messed up yesterday in qualifying, which put him out of the top ten places.”
Williams still ahead in Constructors’ Championship
Although it was a tough race for Williams as Carlos Sainz also failed to score points, the team knew it would be difficult in Spain.
They come away from the race still ahead of Racing Bulls in the Constructors’ Championship, despite Hadjar bringing home a decent points haul.
Williams will be hopeful that they can bring upgrades to their car midway through the season to maintain their advantage, although much of this focus is now on their 2026 car.
