Sainz Crashes Out as Albon Shines in Thrilling Aussie GP

Albon Stuns with P4 as Williams Nails Strategy in Melbourne

16/03/2025

Alexander Albon delivered a shock P4 for Williams in Melbourne, while Carlos Sainz’s early crash marked a disastrous start to his season.

What a way to kick off the season! Alexander Albon delivered a masterclass at the Australian Grand Prix, securing a remarkable 4th place for Williams F1 in a chaotic race. This marks the team’s best result in a full Grand Prix since Lance Stroll’s podium in Baku back in 2017.

Right from the start, Williams F1 positioned itself as the leading midfield contender, and Albon even got the better of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

“For a moment, I thought about the podium, but in conditions like these, survival comes first,” Albon admitted after the race.

“I’m absolutely thrilled for the team. We had a great test in Bahrain, a solid start to the weekend on Friday and Saturday, and Sunday was just the cherry on top.”

Albon highlighted the difficulty of racing in such tricky conditions:

“It’s incredibly tough out there. The cars run so low to the ground, and you can really feel the painted lines on the track.”

“Our pace was strong, and even during the restarts, the car felt great. There’s still a lot to learn, and that’s exciting. The competition is extremely tight, and if you execute things well, you can fight with the top teams. This season is going to be a real battle.”

Williams’ Flawless Strategy Pays Off

Williams F1’s race strategy was both subtle and brilliant, helping Albon capitalize on every opportunity.

“As a team, we executed everything perfectly today,” he praised. “The first race of the season is never easy when it comes to strategy and weekend approach, but we absolutely nailed it to secure P4.”

While Albon is realistic about the challenges ahead, he sees this result as proof of the team’s progress:

“It’s just an incredible start and shows how much we’ve improved from last year. Let’s be honest—this kind of result won’t happen often this season.”

“We’ve talked internally about how crucial it is to maximize points early in the season, especially with rookies on the grid. Today was a perfect example of that.”

Despite his confidence in tricky conditions, Albon admitted that the race was mentally exhausting:

“I trust myself in these situations—I know my limits and when not to push too hard. But starting from P6, I would have been happy finishing P7 if a Ferrari got ahead of me.”

“Ending up in P4, though? Honestly, I wouldn’t want to relive this race! I’m just glad it’s over.”

With unpredictable winds and overheating intermediate tires, Albon knew he was up against it.

Williams’ Race Pace: A Work in Progress

Albon was realistic about Williams’ overall performance, acknowledging they weren’t as fast as they’d like to be.

“To be fair, compared to RB and Alpine, we weren’t as competitive as we hoped. But we were much stronger in these conditions than last year.”

“It was reassuring to see that the pace was still there. I knew I could take some risks when the pit stop window opened.”

“When I pushed, I caught Yuki [Tsunoda] quite easily. I was just waiting to see if he would pit or not. In the end, we made the right call by stopping first.”

Sainz’s Costly Mistake Ends His Race Early

On the other side of the garage, Carlos Sainz endured a nightmare start to his season, crashing out early due to a costly error—one that also caught out rookie Isack Hadjar.

“This shouldn’t have happened,” Sainz admitted. “I had a mistimed gear shift that caused the crash.”

“After shifting gears, I had too much acceleration. I won’t go into technical details, but that’s essentially what happened. We’ll learn from it. I’ve reviewed the data, and the issue is clear. I feel more at ease knowing I wasn’t pushing too hard under the safety car conditions.”

Despite the setback, Sainz remained focused on the bigger picture:

“I lacked experience in that moment, but that’s how it goes. We missed out on a race, but Alex finished fourth thanks to some great strategy calls, which is a fantastic result for the team.”

“Now, my only focus is on the Chinese Grand Prix.”

With Williams F1 hitting the ground running and Sainz already looking for redemption, the 2024 season is shaping up to be an exciting battle in the midfield.

Sainz’s Costly Mistake Ends His Race Early. Sainz Crashes Out as Albon Shines in Thrilling Aussie GP

Sainz Crashes Out as Albon Shines in Thrilling Aussie GP Sainz Crashes Out as Albon Shines in Thrilling Aussie GP

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21 Mar 2025 - 23 Mar 2025
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21 MAR 03:30 - 04:30
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21 MAR 07:30 - 08:14
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22 MAR 03:00 - 04:00
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22 MAR 07:00 - 08:00
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23 MAR 07:00 - 09:00

2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix - Race Results

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
57
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
+0.895s
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
+8.481s
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
+12.773s
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
+15.135s
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
+17.413s
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
+18.423s
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
+19.826s
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
+20.448s
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
+22.473s
Pierre Gasly
11
PIERRE
GASLY
+26.502s
Yuki Tsunoda
12
YUKI
TSUNODA
+29.884s
Esteban Ocon
13
ESTEBAN
OCON
+33.161s
Oliver Bearman
14
OLIVER
BEARMAN
+40.351s
Liam Lawson
15
LIAM
LAWSON
47 DNF
Gabriel Bortoleto
16
GABRIEL
BORTOLETO
47 DNF
Fernando Alonso
17
FERNANDO
ALONSO
34 DNF
Carlos Sainz
18
CARLOS
SAINZ
0 DNF
Jack Doohan
19
JACK
DOOHAN
0 DNF
Isack Hadjar
20
ISACK
HADJAR
0 DNF
F1 CALENDAR 2025
Race
Date
Chinese Flag
Chinese
Shanghai International
23 Mar
Japanese Flag
Japanese
Suzuka Circuit
6 Apr
Bahrain Flag
Bahrain
Sakhir desert
13 Apr
Saudi Arabia Flag
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street
20 Apr
United States Flag
United States
Miami
04 May

2025 FORMULA 1 DRIVERS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
25 Points
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
18
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
15
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
12
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
10
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
8
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
6
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
4
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
2
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
1

2025 FORMULA 1 CONSTRUCTORS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

1
McLaren
27
2
Mercedes
25
3
Red Bull
18
4
Williams
12
5
Aston Martin
8
6
Sauber
6
7
Ferrari
5
8
Alpine F1
0
9
Haas F1
0
10
Racing Bulls
0
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