Alex Albon warned over F1 future ahead of “big test” against Carlos Sainz

Alex Albon’s F1 career prospects could be made a “little bit more difficult” if he doesn’t fare well against Carlos Sainz in 2025, according to Johnny Herbert.

Sainz will race for Williams in 2025 after losing his Ferrari drive to Lewis Hamilton.

The Spaniard will go up against Albon, who has slowly rebuilt his reputation since his days with Red Bull.

The Thai driver dismantled Nicholas Latifi and Logan Sargeant but faced pressure from Franco Colapinto, particularly in the first few races of the Argentine’s short Williams stint.

Some questions were raised about how good Albon is, given the identity of his recent teammates post-Max Verstappen.

Speaking to Casinoutanspelpaus.io, Herbert described the challenge of going up against Sainz for Albon as “a big test”.

“This season is a big test for Alex Albon,” he said. “This is really where, for almost the second time, this is probably the real proper test of where if he doesn’t go quite right, it’s going to make his career that little bit more difficult.

“Especially if somebody like Carlos Sainz comes in I expect him to be on it straightaway. I know he had his problems initially when he went to Ferrari and it took Sainz a long time before he got his head around how the Ferrari worked. But then once he got his head around it we saw how strong he was.

“But everybody forgets about those first couple of years that he did struggle quite a lot and openly he said that he was struggling as well. But when he got into Williams in Abu Dhabi he seemed to be very sort of a home straightaway. Very quick.”

Williams looking to the future

On paper, 2024 was disappointing for Williams as they slipped back to ninth in the constructors’ championship.

While their overall results were disappointing, Williams have undergone significant changes behind the scenes to prepare themselves for the future.

One key change has been their design philosophy and how they develop parts - led by boss James Vowles.

Traditionally, Williams have excelled in low downforce circuits, often having a peaky car, but then struggling at the majority of other circuits.

Herbert is confident Sainz can aid Williams’ progression in the coming years.

“As we expect at the moment, Sainz is full of confidence and he’s going to be able to use that to the best of his abilities,” Herbert added.

“It’s a great opportunity for Williams to have someone like him on board. Hopefully, they’re going to be developing that a little bit more.

“And Albon, I know, has come out and said it’s an important time for Williams to step up and get themselves in a much stronger position, constructors’ and drivers, but he’s going to be that massive mental battle against Sainz.

“Albon has been able to rebuild his career at Williams and has a great reputation, but now he’s up against a guy that has been really shining brightly of recent times. It’s going to be a test for him.

“It’s going to be a good thing for Sainz because obviously if he is, and they are both close together, it could push each driver to be better than last year.”