Jenson Button sends three-word message to Alex Albon after incredible Belgian Grand Prix display

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One of the stars of qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix was Williams driver Alex Albon.

All eyes were on the front of the grid at the Belgian Grand Prix to see whether Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri would be on pole position.

Norris beat his teammate on this occasion, with Charles Leclerc pipping Sprint Race winner Max Verstappen to third with a mega lap.

As qualifying was ending, it looked like George Russell would be starting fifth, until Alex Albon put in his best lap of the weekend for Williams to beat his old Formula 2 rival.

Albon had a far more difficult time in the Sprint Race, starting and finishing 16th and spending much of Saturday battling with Lewis Hamilton and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

And while Hamilton and Antonelli were both eliminated in Q1 for Sunday’s race, Albon extracted the maximum potential from the FW47.

Rosberg spotted something ‘weird’ on Albon’s onboard footage on Saturday, but Jenson Button was quick to praise the Thai driver as he secured his best qualifying position since the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

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Jenson Button praises ‘amazing’ Alex Albon after Belgian Grand Prix qualifying

Albon’s final lap was a 1:41.201, beating both Russell and Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda to be the best midfield driver at Spa.

Drivers had to make a call before the session started on how to set up their cars, with a wet race expected on Sunday.

It’s yet to be seen how competitive Albon will be during the race, but he’s given himself track position over all of his rivals.

Posting on Instagram after the session, Albon said: “Let’s GOOO P5!!! So happy with that one.

“No @georgerussell63 I won’t be buying dinner this time.”

F1 pundit and strategist Ruth Buscombe Divey commented on Albon’s post and said: “Stunning,” while Button replied to the 29-year-old and said: “Amazing lap buddy!”

Since joining Williams, Albon has only qualified better than fifth once in his career.

He started fourth at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix and converted that into a P8 finish and four points.

Albon will want to achieve more than that on Sunday, especially if he can take advantage of the wet conditions.

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Alex Albon hoping for ‘relatively straightforward race’ after Belgian Grand Prix qualifying

Speaking in his official post-race press conference with the media, Albon said: “I’m really happy. We fixed the issue we had on Friday, which made the biggest difference.

“The lap felt tricky, and it was difficult to see where I could find the lap time, so I wasn’t expecting to make such a big step forward in Q3.

“The working window for the tyres is very narrow, and we did a good job to find that sweet spot to pull it all together.

“Our race pace feels strong, so I’m hoping for a relatively straightforward race tomorrow.”

Albon has refused to give any details away about his Williams future, but has very much bought into James Vowles’ vision for the team going forward.

Next season will be critical to determine whether Williams have made the right decision sacrificing much of their development on this year’s car to become a leading team in 2026.

Albon has explained why he thinks Carlos Sainz has been struggling since his move from Ferrari, but the Spaniard added three points to his tally during the Sprint Race and has played a crucial role in developing next year’s Williams alongside the 29-year-old.