Carlos Sainz became Alex Albon’s strategist in Australia – Vowles

After grabbing headlines in testing with impressive times, Williams have only gone from strength to strength. Alex Albon converted a brilliant p6 in qualifying to P4 on race day, the team’s best result since Spa 2021.

The Thai driver performed as an exceptionally high level in very unpredictable conditions.

Ironically, teammate Carlos Sainz – who spun out in the early stages – was actually instrumental in Albon’s strategy.

Williams and Albon shine in chaotic Australian GP

For all of the race simulations and long runs conducted in Friday Practice, wet conditions were always likely on Sunday.

Some teams, like Ferrari, tried to anticipate the rain by making set-up compromises before qualifying.

This was not the case at Williams, who showed strong pace in all conditions.

Although Albert Park is traditionally a track that has suited Williams, Albon’s P4 is nonetheless a massive result.

It confirms their massive progress over the winter, something which James Vowles has always been confident in.

Operationally, Williams also set themselves apart from established front runners like Ferrari, who committed their fair share of errors.

Perhaps most importantly, the Grove team have a competitive car despite already switching their focus to 2026 development.

Considering their progress over the winter with the FW47, Williams must be taken seriously moving forward.

Carlos Sainz and the ideal strategy

Understandably, Carlos Sainz has brought immense scrutiny and excitement to the Williams project.

The four-time race winner’s presence gives additional credibility to what James Vowles is trying to build.

However, it was Alex Albon who produced the results this weekend, at least on track.

Having spun out under Safety Car conditions, Sainz wasted no time in finding a way to contribute for Williams.

Alex Albon revealed post-race that he wasn’t necessarily in agreement with his final stop for intermediates:

“To be honest with you, you need help,” Albon told Sky Sports.

“You don’t know what the weather is doing, and communication is some area that we’ve always been working on, trying to improve.

“Especially in these interchangeable conditions – the kind of relevant information for me.

“They knew exactly when the rain was going to hit and how hard it was going to hit.

“I honestly, if you remember on the radio, was against it [coming in]. I thought – ‘what are we doing? It’s bone dry coming out of the pit-lane‘.

“I was like OK, we’ve definitely lost out here, but it was the right call.”

Sainz’s instincts help Williams claim P4

Many teams, including Ferrari and VCARB, tried to stay out despite the final spell of rain – hoping they would be rewarded if they could just keep the cars on track.

However, what some anticipated would be a one-lap spell of rain actually created wet conditions for much longer.

This ultimately cost the likes of Hamilton, Leclerc and Tsunoda, who were eventually forced to pit again for intermediates.

Williams made, with the assistance of Carlos Sainz, made the crucial call to stop early – rather than be at the mercy of the weather.

James Vowles explained how Sainz influenced the second Williams stop:

“I’ll give you a little nugget. I don’t know if you saw on the race, but Carlos was on the pit-wall right beside me.

“And his insight was fantastic. He looked at the radar and went – ‘when that hits, they won’t stay on track, simple as that’.

“You could see, the big key decision today is – do you stop or not. And you saw the field was split.

“Carlos’ information was key towards this, so it is a group effort in that regard. It was fantastic to see…

“He [Sainz] said he was more nervous [on the pit wall] than being in the car.”