Alex Albon rejects ‘pressure’ notion ahead of Carlos Sainz battle

Alex Albon insists he does not feel pressure having Carlos Sainz as his new Williams F1 teammate and instead sees it as an “opportunity”.

Williams won the race for four-time grand prix winner Sainz’s signature following his exit from Ferrari as he made way for incoming seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton for 2025.

Sainz arrives at Williams off the back of arguably his strongest campaign in F1, having ran Charles Leclerc close and is set to provide Albon with his biggest challenge since he joined the team in 2022.

There have been suggestions that 2025 could be a make-or-break season for Albon after having a fairly easy time against previous Williams teammates Nicholas Latifi, Logan Sargeant and Franco Colapinto.

But Albon only sees Sainz’s arrival as a positive for both him and Williams.

"In terms of pressure, no, I see it as more of an opportunity,” Albon told media including Crash.net at Silverstone, where Williams launched their new 2025 car on Friday.

“Carlos is a very proven driver and he’s just come off of one of his best seasons in F1, so I’m confident in myself and excited to have a great teammate who I can learn from. I hope I can bring something for him as well and in the end, the direction of the team is to go forwards in the future.

"I think we are going to work well together, just from what we have spoken about and what we like about the car, it’s quite similar.”

While Albon admitted Williams have one eye on the 2026 regulation overhaul as they look to make strides towards the front of the grid, he hopes Sainz’s arrival will immediately lift the team this year.

"I think this year is going to be the closest year for F1 yet,” Albon added. “Unless someone has created something exceptional, it’s going to be about a tenth of a second, from your Q3s to your Q1s type thing.

“There is no margin for error in that sense. We’re going to need to be aligned and both need to be competitive. I think the grid generally this year is very strong. I think especially at the start of the year as the rookies are getting up to speed, maybe there’s some opportunities there.

"I don’t know what everyone else’s development plan is but of course, we definitely have one eye on next year, so let’s see. But it is going to be a tight fight for everyone so that’s where I’m hoping having two team players and two good drivers is going to help.”