Williams expect ‘no politics’ between Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon

Williams team principal James Vowles is confident there will be “no politics” between new F1 teammates Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon in 2025.

Sainz has joined the team from Ferrari after making way for the incoming Lewis Hamilton and will partner Albon to strengthen Williams’ driver line-up for the upcoming 2025 campaign.

Albon has comfortably had the measure of all of his teammates since joining Williams but Sainz, a four-time grand prix winner, could look to threaten the Thai racer’s position as de facto team leader.

However, Williams team boss Vowles has no concerns about how the pair will work together, insisting both drivers “don’t have a political bone” in them.

"One of the elements that are great with Carlos and Alex is that neither one has any politics, they don't have a political bone, they just want the car to be quick and they want to perform the best that we can within that environment," Vowles told Motorsport.com.

"They both know the challenges of '25, but the real crux of it is looking forward to what we have in 2026 together. So what I'm expecting is insights into where we're strong during the week to what I already believe and what Alex already believes.

“What I'm expecting is leadership that with just a few words is able to lead the team in the right direction as we're moving forward as an organisation. What I'm expecting is an individual that will give me everything when any given race begins, because we're here to make this team successful.”

Vowles praised Albon’s leadership qualities and revealed he was actively encouraging Williams to pursue Sainz once the Spaniard became available.

"What I love about Alex is he's a leader," Vowles explained. "When things get difficult, he pulls forward, irrespective of what the circumstances are, and lifts the team back up to emotional strength. He was the one encouraging us to get Carlos into the building because he's not worried about a challenge, he wants us to be successful.

"He's had a frustrating year himself. Reflecting on all that, Alex is the driver that I know he can be and I think next year he'll reset, start again and he'll be strong from the beginning." 

Vowles confirmed Sainz and Albon will be free to race each other and believes a healthy rivalry will help drive Williams forward in their quest to move further up the grid in the coming years.

"What I see with Carlos, does he fight hard? Yes. But is it clean? Also yes. It's very clean racing. They're not doing it by knocking the wheels off each other's cars. They're doing it by, if one of them is faster than the other one, they can race,” he explained.

"And we're in that situation as well. What I've always had a rule of is, it's fair to race. It's no problem to race, but you don't hit each other, you don't push each other off track. You do it as a sportsman, you do it clean, respecting the brand that you're representing.

"When I look at [Sainz and Charles Leclerc], there was some radio jibber-jabber across the last few races. That's normal. One driver will always be frustrated by what it is.

“But as long as you create the right environment where they know this is the way we can race each other… And there will be points where I say, you can't. We need to bring this result home. Because the result is more important than where you individually finish. That's a very different situation to be dealing with.

"But if you have two drivers pushing each other, it's typically that you're getting the absolute most out of them. What is great about Carlos is, despite his future being different to what it is today, you're seeing Carlos fight for everything. And that's one of the strengths he has."