Alex Albon Welcomes Carlos Sainz to Williams: No ‘Hierarchy’ Shift Expected in 2025 F1 Season

EXCLUSIVE: Alex Albon questions changes in Williams' leadership structure with Carlos Sainz joining

Alex Albon opens up to Crash.net's Connor McDonagh regarding the team atmosphere post-Carlos Sainz's entry

Alex Albon believes that Williams won't have to establish a definite pecking order among its team members after Carlos Sainz joins the team for the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Sainz is set to move from Ferrari to Williams in 2025, following a period where several leading teams, such as Mercedes and Red Bull, did not select him.

Sainz is highly esteemed as one of the top talents in Formula 1, given his impressive performance in pushing Charles Leclerc to his limits throughout his time with Maranello starting from 2021.

During his tenure at McLaren, he outperformed Lando Norris over two seasons, which led to his recruitment by Ferrari to take over Sebastian Vettel's position.

In an exclusive interview with Crash.net during the Dutch Grand Prix, Albon refuted the idea that Williams' recent changes to their driver roster would lead to an established "pecking order" in the team, possibly showing preference to one driver over another.

"Playing by a hierarchical approach isn't feasible for us," Albon candidly shared with Crash.net. "Our focus is solely on earning points. The competition is incredibly close. I don't foresee us being among the leading teams next year, hence it's crucial that both our vehicles are at their peak performance."

"This circles back to my initial argument – it's crucial for us to ensure we're in a strong position as a team so that we can support two drivers who will be competing closely. I'm convinced we'll be evenly matched."

"He's a top-notch driver, and facing him will be an exciting challenge. Our priority is to ensure that our team is in a strong position to support both drivers in their competition. I'm confident that we'll be evenly matched."

"He's an exceptionally regarded driver, and it's going to be exciting to compete against him. We just need to ensure we have the necessary support structure in place to facilitate that."

Speculation about Sainz's career remained a lively subject of discussion in the weeks leading up to the recent revelation.

At 29, the individual became closely associated with the Audi initiative and Alpine, with connections growing stronger after Flavio Briatore joined the scene.

Sainz ultimately chose Williams, potentially providing the Grove team with their best duo since the early days of the 2000s when Ralf Schumacher and Juan-Pablo Montoya were partners.

Considering the news, Albon acknowledged it "didn't come as a surprise" and then shared his enthusiasm about what Sainz joining the team means to him.

"He mentioned that it came as no surprise. He was aware that James [Vowles] had a strong interest in bringing Carlos on board earlier in the season. Fantastic. What truly excites me the most is reflecting on my own journey from Red Bull to Williams and realizing the vast amount of knowledge I gained from Red Bull."

It expedited the process, allowing me to immediately get behind the wheel of a Williams vehicle and instantly identify its strengths and weaknesses, pinpointing exactly where to direct my attention and which aspects I could afford to overlook, thereby optimizing how I allocated my time.

"With Carlos joining, his extensive experience, particularly with the latest car models, will be invaluable in identifying their shortcomings."

"For nearly three years, I've been behind the wheel of the Williams vehicle in its present iteration. During this time, I've formed opinions on our areas of weakness and other aspects."

"Having Carlos join us, bringing his expertise from Ferrari, will be incredibly beneficial. I'm confident that upon his arrival, we'll have a thorough knowledge-sharing session and query him on all aspects."

Something to demonstrate?

After his departure from Red Bull in late 2020, Albon has risen to become among the elite drivers in F1.

Nonetheless, it could be debated whether there has been significant progress in his performance after departing from Williams, especially considering the caliber of his new teammates.

In 2022, Nicholas Latifi faced significant challenges driving the Williams FW44, and Logan Sargeant has also encountered difficulties.

Albon is eager to face the challenge of competing with Sainz but emphasizes that he is not focused on making "comparisons" with his teammate for the upcoming season.

"I don't see it as my role to make comparisons," he continued. "That's something the media handles. I'm focused on my own journey. I relish the challenges.

"I believe having Carlos join us is fantastic. I feel we will mutually benefit and gain knowledge from each other. To me, this seems like a thrilling opportunity."

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