Albon Eyes Williams Podium Breakthrough After Sainz's Success

Alex Albon is targeting his first-ever podium with Williams, fueled by the surprise success of his teammate, Carlos Sainz, who scored two top-three finishes in 2025. After four seasons with the Grove-based squad, Albon believes the team is finally "clicking" and is hopeful his own opportunity to stand on the podium is on the horizon, marking the next step in their collective resurgence.

Why it matters:

A podium for Albon would be the culmination of a long, patient journey for both driver and team, solidifying Williams' return to relevance as a regular points-scoring contender. It would also validate Albon's decision to stick with the team through its difficult rebuilding phase, marking a major career milestone and proving the FW47 is a genuine threat to the top teams on the right day.

The details:

• Sainz, despite a slow start adapting to the team, secured two unexpected podiums in Azerbaijan and Qatar, demonstrating the car's latent potential.
• Albon enjoyed his best season yet with Williams, finishing 8th in the standings with 73 points—more than his previous three seasons combined.
• He attributes the progress to the team's cohesion, stating, "as a team, as a unit, we seem to be dialling in."
• However, Albon remains realistic about the challenge ahead, acknowledging the significant gap to the front-runners: "The gap from P10 to P5 is smaller than the gap from P5 to P4."
• He also candidly admitted to his own errors, such as in Vegas and Baku, which cost him valuable points.

What's next:

Albon is hopeful his podium chances will come "sooner rather than later" as Williams continues its upward trajectory. With the team showing clear, year-on-year progress and having delivered a car capable of podiums, the focus for 2026 will be on maximizing opportunities, minimizing mistakes, and consistently converting their strong race pace into a genuine challenge for the top three.