Albon: teaming with Sainz is an exciting challenge for Williams
Alex Albon has expressed his enthusiasm for the upcoming challenge of having Carlos Sainz as his Williams teammate for the next Formula One season.
Spaniard Sainz is set to leave Ferrari to pave the way for incoming seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. The announcement of Sainz's move to Williams came just as the sport headed into its August break.
"It will be a challenge of course, I think Carlos is very highly regarded, I welcome it," Albon told reporters at the Dutch Grand Prix, which marks the beginning of the second half of the season. "It’s great to have that competition and I enjoy that ... we'll be able to learn from each other."
Albon indicated that Williams would present a very different environment for Sainz. The British team is focusing on improving their car and creating a team capable of regularly fighting for points. Currently, Williams sits ninth out of the 10 teams, with only four points from 14 races, all scored by Albon. His American teammate, Logan Sargeant, will be departing at the end of the year.
Having joined Williams in 2022 after a year out, Albon brings with him top-team experience, including a stint as teammate to now-triple world champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2019 and 2020.
"I think we'll push each other hard," he said of Sainz. "I'm especially interested to see what his feedback is. You have a lot of things that you want to try and change, and the insights that Carlos has gained over his time with the new generation of cars will be invaluable to Williams.
"I've spent three years now driving a Williams and you kind of get quite used to driving that. It's nice to have a fresh look on things, especially from someone coming from a top team; it always helps."
Sainz has been with Ferrari since 2021, alongside Charles Leclerc. Prior to that, he raced with Lando Norris at McLaren, had a tenure with Nico Hülkenberg at Renault, and began his career alongside Max Verstappen at the Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso in 2015.
As Williams aims to rebuild and improve, the combination of Albon's experience and Sainz's fresh perspective could be just the catalyst needed to propel the historic team back into regular contention.
Up Next
