Alex Albon has just pinpointed exactly why Carlos Sainz is struggling at Williams in 2025

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Carlos Sainz begins the second half of the 2025 Formula 1 season 15th in the championship. He hasn’t finished that low down the order since his rookie year.

Williams were the first team to switch off 2025 development to prioritise next year, which will logically affect their results in the last 12 races. Sainz could, therefore, find it difficult to make progress.

The Spaniard has shown his class at times, most notably with three top-six starts in a row between Miami and Monaco. He may feel that his haul of 13 points misrepresents the level of his driving.

33 further up the road, Alex Albon is sitting in P8. The Thai driver is arguably enjoying his best season yet, leading Sainz 15-5 in competitive sessions where both are classified.

Alex Albon says he’s used to driving around a car’s issues – unlike Carlos Sainz

Speaking on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast, Albon explained the ‘main difference’ between the approach of the two Williams drivers. He feels he’s better able to drive around a car’s ‘limitations’.

Williams have had the fifth-fastest car on the grid this year, occasionally able to challenge Ferrari or Mercedes. They’d finished last in Albon’s first season and second from bottom in 2024.

Sainz, by contrast, comes from a Ferrari team who won five races last year and narrowly missed out on becoming world champions. He’s demanded changes to the FW47 to suit his style.

“We know each other’s styles quite well,” said Albon. “The main difference we’ve had is that I have a driving style where I drive around some of the car limitations. I think that’s come from a lot of years of driving the Williams car and accepting it.

“I think Carlos is more, ‘I want to drive like this, and you guys have got to give me this’. But in the same context, we’re still talking about the same things. I would say that’s the nuance between us.”

In a recent interview, Sainz admitted that he misses fighting at the front. He knew the objectives would be different at Williams, but it’s still been a difficult adjustment.

Alex Albon explains how beating Carlos Sainz at Williams has changed his reputation

In the same podcast, Albon was asked whether perceptions of his talent in the F1 paddock had changed this year. Sainz arrived as one of the highest-rated drivers on the grid, having won four races at Ferrari, but he’s clearly been second best.

Albon previously partnered inexperienced drivers like Nicholas Latifi, Logan Sargeant and Franco Colapinto. Two of those drivers are already out of F1, and the other could follow at the end of the year.

“Yes, I do [think perceptions have changed],” he said. “It was easy to dismiss me for my teammates. That was an easy scapegoat to say, ‘Well, he’s doing well, but we don’t know how to quantify him as a driver’.

“When James [Vowles, team principal] spoke to me early on about Carlos joining, I was in two positive mindsets. The first one was, he’s going to be a huge asset to the team with all his experience and him being a quick driver.

“The second was, I feel like he’s a credible reference that I can go into. I genuinely want to see how I stack up against a driver like Carlos.

“I was confident in who I was, but I think I maybe have surprised some of the paddock. I don’t think the people that know were surprised – his sounds a bit arrogant – but internally in Williams, or the ones I’ve driven for in the past.”

Sainz has praised his relationship with Albon, saying it’s the most ‘honest’ he’s had with a teammate. He’s also raced alongside the likes of Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.