14/10/2025 16:35
Alex Albon has admitted that he never expected Williams to claim a
podium this season, but that a "big step" has been made. Carlos
Sainz secured a rostrum for Williams in the Azerbaijan GP,
representing the first top three finish for the Grove-based outfit
since the 2021 Belgian GP – George Russell finished second. Huge
strides have been made by the historic F1 squad since James Vowles
joined as team principal in 2023, with the former Mercedes
motorsport strategy director having implemented major change into
Williams' operations. Vowles has improved the technology being
used by Williams, which in return has made the outfit more
competitive. Despite a difficult Singapore GP, Williams is in
complete control of fifth in the constructors' standings, with
Albon having felt in the team's February shakedown test that major
progress had been made. However, despite recognising before the
current season that he had a competitive package, he never expected
to see the car on the podium. "I would never have said at the
beginning of 2025 we would score a podium—and almost on pace as
well. No," admitted Albon. "But at the same time, when we did the
shakedown in Silverstone in February, it was already clear we made
a big step, bigger than I imagined. "What's exciting to me is
we're only, I would consider, 60-70% in our journey—maybe even less
than that—and yet we can score a podium at this time. There are so
many areas we haven't untapped that we know we need to improve on.
"But the job we're doing with the resources we have, we can already
nip at the heels of the top teams, which makes me believe even more
that we can do a better job."
