Carlos Sainz podium further fuels ‘addictive’ Williams energy, Albon claims

The momentum within the Williams Racing team has been growing over these past few years, with Carlos Sainz’s podium finish last time out at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix representing an increase in the “addictive” energy within the outfit.

That’s the word from Alex Albon, whose trip to the Baku City Circuit was far less promising following a crash in qualifying but who has been one of the guiding lights within the Grove-based team during this rebuilding process.

Carlos Sainz podium fuels “addictive” energy at Williams

Williams Racing has been on a mission to lift itself from the lower reaches of the World Constructors’ Championship standings these past few years, and the team’s recent podium finish with Carlos Sainz at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is further proof that the team’s efforts are paying off.

The team can trace its roots to an outfit founded by the eponymous Frank Williams back in 1977, in an era where wins and championships came naturally to a dedicated and forward-thinking team. But the team has struggled to find its footing since the early 2000s.

At least, until an influx of funding from new owners Dorilton Capital, which acquired the operation in 2020, and sponsorship from Atlassian helped add to the team’s developmental budget. With the hiring of former Mercedes motorsport strategy director James Vowles as team principal and the addition of experienced drivers like Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, the team has enjoyed an uptick in 2025.

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For a team that has already begun preparing for the incoming 2026 regulatory set, sitting a secure fifth overall in the constructors’ title standings is something of a victory in itself.

As was Sainz’s thrilling podium at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he was able to start from the front row of the grid and bring his car home in third.

Speaking to media during the pre-Singapore FIA press conference, Alex Albon was asked to share how that podium impacted the team — though he was hesitant to credit it with a major leap in hopes.

“Truthfully, I would say the whole attitude this year has shifted,” Albon admitted, “and I don’t feel like the podium has necessarily invigorated the team more, because I can tell you, at Grove, everyone is super, super motivated. The culture and the energy in it is addictive.

“And you don’t really feel like there’s much more that the podium gave more than, if anything, proving a point.

“I feel like it’s almost a bit of a taste, I hope, for the future of the team and for us, and it’s a sign of things to come, and maybe came a little bit earlier than we thought it would, but it shows that we’re working the right direction.”

Asked to elaborate further on the atmosphere of a team that had been very “doom and gloom” before the arrival of team principal James Vowles, Albon stated that the major change has been “culture, in terms of belief and confidence.

“I think when I first joined the team, there was an element of just low down. I think they kind of just expected this was the way, and this is where we belong.

“There’s been a huge shift in terms of open mindedness, willingness to experiment, in general, and then just this hunger to move and be a top team.

“And so that’s very much down to James and key individuals within the team, who’ve moved that. It’s not an easy thing to do, and I don’t think it can’t go unnoticed just how different the atmosphere is in the team from day one when I joined to now.”

He went on to reflect that, when he joined the team, there were “good qualities” to the outfit “but it wasn’t always that obvious that the team was going to end up in a position that this has happened.”

He continued, “I would say the biggest shift has been the last couple of years, where a lot of the big foundational elements of the team have changed.

“It’s interesting to me because the step from ’23 to ’24, people, most probably saw that as a back step in terms of where the team were in terms of performance, but actually I think the ground roots of the team changed the most at that point, and that’s been one of the biggest steps out of all the years that I’ve spent with the team.

“What you’re seeing this year has come from a lot of the changes we’ve made a couple years ago.

“I’m happy where I am, and I like — especially James, is very honest in terms of the weaknesses and strengths we have as a team, and it makes the journey believable. It’s not, you know, ‘next year we’re going to be up at the very front.’ It’s a calculated, realistic plan that he has in mind.

“And so far, it feels like we’re on the road to which he explained, and that that kind of makes me feel like I’m in a good place.”

Yet a podium was not necessarily in the plan for a season that was likely assumed to be another building year.

“I would never have said at the beginning of 2025 we would score a podium, and almost on pace as well,” Albon admitted.

“But at the same time, when we did the shakedown in Silverstone, we did it in February, it was already clear that we made a big step — bigger than what I imagined.

“What’s exciting to me is we’re only, I would consider, 60, 70 per cent in our journey — maybe even less than that — and yet we can score a podium at this time.

“I think there’s so many areas that we haven’t untapped that we know we need to improve on.

“But the job we’re doing with the resources that we have, we’re already can nip at the heels of the top teams, which makes me believe even more that we can do a better job.”

Despite the success in Baku and the vaguely similar street circuit nature of the Marina Bay Circuit, Albon argues that conditions are just different enough to quiet chatter about a follow-up podium finish.

“I mean, realistically over the weekend in Baku, we were strong,” Albon explained.

“It was literally just qualifying [where I struggled]. Bit frustrating in hindsight, obviously. Carlos proved how quick the car was, and it was a bit of an uphill battle for me starting at the back after the crash.

“[Singapore] it is a very different track, even though maybe you would think it’s quite similar to Baku, the demands and the track temperature and the way the bumps are around this track, it does offer a different need, let’s say.

“I would say I’m maybe a bit more pessimistic going into this weekend, but still think we can score points.”

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