The big opportunity Sainz’s Williams switch affords to F1’s latest centurion

Hitting a century of grand prix starts isn’t quite the landmark it used to be. Calendar expansion in Formula 1’s late-capitalism era requires a driver to stay in the game for just five years to pass it – easier for some than others, of course.

Still, it always made one’s eyeballs rotate when team spin doctors insisted on describing Lance Stroll as “a rookie” when he had contested more GPs than Jackie Stewart. Alex Albon concurs.