David Coulthard told one F1 driver the 2025 season was ‘make-of-break’ for their career, he’s already proved him wrong

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The start of the 2025 Formula 1 season has been a real test of adaptability for many drivers, while others have arrived with a real point to prove.

There were some headline movements in the F1 driver’s market last season, with Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari at the top of the list.

Rookies such as Andrea Kimi Antonelli and F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto arrived with a lot of hype surrounding them, and the Mercedes youngster has hit the ground running to say the least.

A handful of more experienced drivers also switched teams over the winter, including Nico Hulkenberg, Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon.

Each have already scored points in 2025, and have one standout performance they can point to that will give them confidence going into the rest of the campaign.

The balance of power at Williams was one of the fascinating underlying subplots this season, with Alex Albon finally having a world-class teammate to challenge him.

And while Sainz has had his struggles at the start of this year, Albon has only gone from strength to strength and has already scored more points that the whole team did in 2024.

READ MORE: Williams driver Alex Albon’s life outside F1 with net worth, girlfriend to parents

Alex Albon has already proved David Coulthard wrong after ‘make of break’ 2025 prediction

David Coulthard was being interviewed by RacingNews365 ahead of the start of the season and was making predictions about certain drivers.

Coulthard suggested 2025 could be make or break for Albon, due to the arrival of Sainz and the pressure that could put him under.

He said: “Alex had a taste of that at Red Bull but that was a few years ago. I always kind of gauge, if the two drivers walk into the room, where do people gravitate to?

“And right now they’ll probably gravitate towards Carlos because he’s got more experience. That’s not to take anything away from Alex at all, but I think that’s going to be one of the most fascinating driver pairings to watch.

“Because away from the headline spotlight of they may battle for victories but probably not for the championship, it’s going to be really telling to see… it could make or break Alex’s future if Carlos was to dominate him.

“I don’t think he will, but if he did, that would obviously take a big value away from Alex that he’s built up over the last couple of years.”

READ MORE: All to know about Williams Racing from team principal to Mercedes ties

How Alex Albon 2025 Williams season has compared to new teammate Carlos Sainz

Albon was expected to be under pressure from Sainz from the first race of the season, but he quickly dismissed that notion in Australia.

He outqualified the Spaniard, before finishing P5, which was briefly fourth before Antonelli’s was reversed, while Sainz was caught out on the opening lap under the safety car, crashing into the barriers.

Sainz played a crucial role in Albon’s strategy in Australia, but only scored points in one of the first four race weekends, benefiting from three disqualifications ahead of him in China to earn 10th.

Ted Kravitz was concerned for Sainz at this point, but the four-time race winner showed his qualify in Saudi Arabia.

He started sixth, ahead of Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda, and while he only finished P8, he was tasked with keeping Albon in his DRS to avoid the Thai driver being overtaken by Isack Hadjar.

Team principal James Vowles will be delighted that Sainz has found his feet within the team, but Albon has shown that he’s more than capable of keeping up with his new teammate.