Alex Albon didn’t sugar-coat it: the Max Verstappen years overwhelmed him. Looking back on his 2019–20 stint at Red Bull, Albon admits he “never really got on top of it” as he tried to decode a teammate operating at a different speed and with far more experience. The contrast with life at Williams alongside Carlos Sainz couldn’t be clearer.
“It’s different. It’s very different,” Albon said when asked to compare Verstappen with Sainz. The difference, he explained, is mostly internal. Back then he was buried in traces and telemetry, searching for the magic trick. “I was so consumed in just myself trying to improve… ‘How can Max do this?’… I was inexperienced, so I didn’t really know the right questions to ask in many ways, and I never really got on top of it.”
That bruising spell ended with Albon parked on the Red Bull bench for 2021, before he rebuilt at Williams and found his groove. The year out, he says, reset him. “It allowed me a bit more time to get on top of it before I got back in, and then with Carlos, it’s more: I do have the bandwidth, I do have the mental space, and I do have the knowledge to understand.”
It shows. Albon’s form since returning with Williams has been one of the quieter success stories of recent seasons, and his 2025 campaign has him well clear of Sainz in their intra-team duel as the Spaniard beds into Grove after his high-profile switch. Williams, meanwhile, has been punching above its weight in the Constructors’ standings, though the field around them is compressing as Aston Martin, Sauber and Haas stack on upgrades.
Albon’s been blunt about that too. “We’re now falling behind,” he warned around Silverstone. “We’re due an upgrade… hopefully when it does [arrive], we can get back to where we were.” Williams obliged at Spa with a package centred on the floor, sidepod inlet and engine cover.
Just don’t expect a development arms race. Team principal James Vowles has drawn a hard line: 2026 is the target, even if that means giving up a place in this year’s standings. “Everything is switched off… it’s decided,” he said of further FW47 development. “I really enjoy the fact we’re fifth this year… but the goal of this team is to win World Championships, and you’re simply not going to do that by continuing to fight for a position or two in a Constructors’ Championship.” If that costs them a spot by Abu Dhabi, “so be it.”
For Albon, that clarity seems to be part of the appeal. The Verstappen era taught him how easy it is to lose yourself chasing someone else’s silhouette. At Williams, he’s got the headspace—and now the toolkit—to set his own.
