The big opportunity Sainz’s Williams switch affords to F1’s latest centurion

Hitting a century of grand prix starts isn’t quite the landmark it used to be. Calendar expansion in Formula 1’s late-capitalism era requires a driver to stay in the game for just five years to pass it – easier for some than others, of course.

Still, it always made one’s eyeballs rotate when team spin doctors insisted on describing Lance Stroll as “a rookie” when he had contested more GPs than Jackie Stewart. Alex Albon concurs.

“It’s odd because it’s happened so quickly,” he told reporters at a conference in Austin to celebrate his centenary at the US Grand Prix. “I feel like five years in F1 isn’t that much time… But it’s a nice moment to reflect, see where I’ve come from, see the driver I’ve become, and still in the future be someone better.

“I’m a year later than my immediate colleagues, Lando [Norris] and George [Russell], but I guess I can celebrate this one and get all the attention…”

The reason he hit his hundredth grand prix a year later than his fellow 2019 rookies is that he spent a season ‘parked’ in DTM, courtesy of the ongoing omnishambles that is Red Bull’s young-driver programme. Albon had already been dropped once by Red Bull, after a disappointing Formula Renault 2.0 season in 2012, only to receive a surprise call-up to the Toro Rosso F1 squad six years later when the energy drinks enterprise found itself short on junior options.

After just half a season he was promoted to the senior team to replace the struggling Pierre Gasly, only to be dropped again at the end of 2020 when Red Bull’s leaders decided to recruit from outside the pool, partnering Sergio Perez with Max Verstappen instead.

Albon had a tricky time at Red Bull in 2020 and was benched for a year before rebuilding his career at Williams

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

He spent 2021 juggling DTM with Red Bull simulator duties, only entering an F1 cockpit proper when the team used a ‘filming day’ for Albon to re-enact Lewis Hamilton’s line through Copse on the opening lap of the British GP, in an unsuccessful bid to persuade the FIA to reinvestigate the incident between Hamilton and Verstappen. A 2022 F1 seat with Williams represented a career lifeline he’s fully exploited.

He says now the year in DTM was useful since it gave him the space to reflect on the two Toro Rosso/Red Bull years, analyse what went wrong, and identify his strengths and weaknesses. From not even having a manager he built a support mechanism around him, led by former Williams and Red Bull PR man Jacques Heckstall-Smith. Williams insiders say there was never any doubt about Albon’s speed – he just needed confidence.

That self-belief is now manifest in the very grown-up way he now openly pushes his team to do better when it falls short on the operational side, such as at the Italian GP when he chided the pitwall for a pitstop timing that left him having to push too hard on his out-lap to maintain track position. Team principal James Vowles has praised Albon for being a “real leader” and, back in May, concluded a contract extension that will tie Alex in to Williams until the end of 2026.

He is one of several drivers Red Bull’s leaders are interested in if the current options don’t pan out – especially since Verstappen’s plans after his present contract are unknown

The questions now are whether Albon will retain the leadership mantle as he’s joined by GP winner Carlos Sainz next season – and whether Williams really will, as Vowles claims, sacrifice performance in 2025 to focus resources on the incoming ’26 rules package. Into the mix has come Franco Colapinto, the Argentinan Williams protege who replaced the underperforming Logan Sargeant at Monza and who has subsequently generated considerable excitement in Milton Keynes as well as Latin America.

Such was Colapinto’s pace in his early races – he outqualified Albon in their second race as team-mates, though there were mitigating circumstances – that many observers began to revise their opinions of Albon. His churlish complaint – subsequently retracted – about being “dive bombed” by Colapinto on the opening lap in Singapore was held up as evidence of a driver suddenly under considerable pressure.

In an instant his former boss, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, was sniffing around Williams. Word circulated that Vowles was willing to part with Franco for not less than £20m.

Perhaps it was the thin air at altitude in Mexico City or the smog of Sao Paulo causing brains to experience a shortage of oxygen, but even experienced F1 figures have seemingly lost their heads over the permutations of who might move from one team to the other now Williams has three quick drivers on the books.

Albon has emerged in the role of team leader at Williams, but will that still be the case when Sainz arrives?

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Recently Juan Pablo Montoya set aside his burger long enough to tell a Colombian radio station that Red Bull should snap up Sainz rather than pitching for Colapinto – an absurd proposition given that, rather like the cast of the Carry On films, Sainz and Verstappen loathe each other and their respective camps have ruled out such a move.

While the situation remains fluid, it’s known that Red Bull offered Albon a ‘first-option’ deal for 2026 before he agreed his latest renewal with Williams. He is one of several drivers Red Bull’s leaders are interested in if the current options don’t pan out – especially since Verstappen’s plans after his present contract are unknown.

All of which makes the 2025 season more critical to Albon and Williams than might previously have been expected. If Albon is to plot a trajectory back to one of F1’s top teams, he needs to make an impression against an established winner who will be his toughest team-mate since 2020.

Albon believes he’s a more complete driver now than the inexperienced newcomer who wilted against Verstappen five years ago. Now’s the time to prove it.

This will be an important year for Albon, not only to solidify his position at Williams but to underline for rival teams his potential against a proven F1 race winner

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images