Alex Albon admits Williams surprise after major step

Alex Albon has admitted that he never expected Williams to claim a podium this season, but that a "big step" has been made. 

Carlos Sainz secured a rostrum for Williams in the Azerbaijan GP, representing the first top three finish for the Grove-based outfit since the 2021 Belgian GP – George Russell finished second.

Huge strides have been made by the historic F1 squad since James Vowles joined as team principal in 2023, with the former Mercedes motorsport strategy director having implemented major change into Williams' operations. 

Vowles has improved the technology being used by Williams, which in return has made the outfit more competitive. 

Despite a difficult Singapore GP, Williams is in complete control of fifth in the constructors' standings, with Albon having felt in the team's February shakedown test that major progress had been made. 

However, despite recognising before the current season that he had a competitive package, he never expected to see the car on the podium.

"I would never have said at the beginning of 2025 we would score a podium—and almost on pace as well. No," admitted Albon. 

"But at the same time, when we did the shakedown in Silverstone in February, it was already clear we made a big step, bigger than I imagined. 

"What’s exciting to me is we’re only, I would consider, 60-70% in our journey—maybe even less than that—and yet we can score a podium at this time. There are so many areas we haven’t untapped that we know we need to improve on. 

"But the job we’re doing with the resources we have, we can already nip at the heels of the top teams, which makes me believe even more that we can do a better job."