Alex Albon sends immediate message to Carlos Sainz with Williams on front row at Azerbaijan Grand Prix

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Carlos Sainz put his Williams car on the front row at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday. It was a remarkable result that reflected the unpredictability of the session.

It looked as if Sainz might even take pole position after he set the early benchmark in Q3. With rain falling thereafter, Williams were praying the best of the conditions had passed.

But the talents of Max Verstappen shone through as the reigning world champion beat Sainz by nearly half a second after the sixth and final red flag of qualifying. Verstappen was the only driver who found the grip needed to dislodge the Spaniard.

This is the first time Williams have qualified in the top two since George Russell at the sodden Belgian Grand Prix in 2021. Sainz said in parc ferme that he’s targeting a podium from here.

Alex Albon salutes Carlos Sainz’s performance in Baku qualifying

On the other side of the garage, Alex Albon will be ruing his error even more after seeing Sainz’s heroics. His session ended almost immediately as he turned into the first corner too early and broke the suspension on the inside wall.

But Albon put that disappointment aside to commend Sainz and congratulate the team on social media.

“Well done mate!! Well deserved result for the team,” he wrote.

Sainz qualified sixth for three straight races in the Spring but had only made one Q3 appearance in the last four rounds. He entered the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend down in 18th in the championship.

Albon, meanwhile, sits an outstanding seventh, having scored 70 of the team’s 86 points. Sainz has been adamant that his position doesn’t reflect the quality of his performances this year.

Albon has praised the team dynamic with Sainz, and James Vowles seems thrilled by the contribution both drivers have made to Williams’ leap forward this year.

How Williams’ qualifying head-to-head stands after Carlos Sainz goes P2

Albon leads Sainz 8-2 in the 10 Grands Prix that both drivers have finished. That explains his enormous points advantage.

But in qualifying trim, Sainz and Albon are now tied at eight apiece. That gives the former Ferrari driver hope that he can start prevailing consistently when he puts together cleaner weekends.

Indeed, Williams have shown no sense of panic, even though Sainz hasn’t met expectations on paper.

After practice, Sainz said Williams were struggling with the tyres, but perhaps they’ve now made a breakthrough. Even though the team were the first to pull their car out of the wind tunnel with an eye on next year, they remain capable of big results.

Sainz has missed fighting for poles, as he did at Ferrari, but he got a completely unexpected taste of it here.