Despite both drivers finishing in the points, Williams will have to manage the first signs of tension between their two new teammates.
The Miami weekend was a very positive one for Williams: after a Sprint race that fell short of expectations, the team secured a double points finish for the third time in the 2025 season, with Alex Albon in fifth place and Carlos Sainz in ninth.
.
The Spanish driver’s race had already gotten off to a difficult start, as he was forced to begin on used medium tyres due to a strategic error by the team, which had led him to use all of his new medium sets during practice and qualifying.
During the hectic first lap, the two Williams drivers were involved in a slight contact at Turn 3. Sainz, in an effort to avoid Norris rejoining the track after his incident with Verstappen, was forced to move wide and clipped Albon’s left rear with his front wing. The contact caused minor damage to the Spanish driver’s car.
Later, on lap five, the first on-track tussle between the two drivers occurred: Sainz launched an attack on Albon on the inside of Turn 11, moving up into sixth place, after the Thai driver had already been overtaken the lap before by a charging Lando Norris.
In the following phase of the race, Sainz managed to get within DRS range of Russell, who had also been overtaken by Norris in the meantime. On lap 10, Sainz attempted a move on the British driver at Turn 17, but it didn’t come off.
This attempt made the Spanish driver vulnerable, causing him to fall behind Russell. Then, on lap 14, Albon returned the favor, overtaking his teammate at Turn 11, primarily taking advantage of the difference in competitiveness between the new and used tyres.
In a couple of laps, the positions settled, with Albon managing to keep pace with George Russell’s Mercedes ahead of him, while Sainz had to start looking in his mirrors to defend against the charge from Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.
Sparks fly at Williams: Carlos Sainz’s words after the race.
At the end of the race, speaking to the journalists present, Carlos Sainz expressed his frustration with the team’s race management, particularly regarding the move made by his teammate. Here are his words, as reported by Motorsport.com:
“First of all, due to some operational errors throughout the weekend, we were forced to start the race on a used tyre right from qualifying, while everyone around me was on a new one. I knew this would put us at a disadvantage, losing a couple of tenths per lap in the first stint.”
“New tyres against my used ones, and obviously, from there on, I tried everything to keep up in the first lap. I took some damage early on with Alex, then he made a mistake, and I managed to pass him. After my overtake, the team told us that we would freeze the positions, so I don’t know if he received the message or not, but basically, he overtook me.” , the Spanish driver declared irritably.
“From there on, in the first stint, I tried everything to stay in touch with that group, keeping Charles behind with a used tyre and a damaged car. I came into the pits, I believe, first of that group, the Virtual Safety Car came out, so it was a free stop for all of them, or a sort of short stop compared to mine, which means, of course, I came under pressure from them after the VSC.”
Finally, Sainz also reflected on his desperate overtaking attempt on Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari in the final lap: “Lewis did his best to defend the position. I had a chance to overtake him at the last corner, but he moved as soon as he saw me starting the move. This caused the contact, and I think it’s something we see quite often. But if we follow the written rules exactly, Lewis shouldn’t have moved as much as he did. “But that’s how it works on the last lap.”
PHOTO: Williams F1 Team, F1, Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon.
