Why Sainz at Williams will make or break Albon

Not since Alex Albon stepped up from Toro Rosso to Red Bull mid-way through his debut F1 season has the Williams driver had a representative team-mate to benchmark himself against.

Whilst Daniil Kvyat was a fair reference point for a rookie, Max Verstappen was not. The 28-year-old lasted just 18 months in Milton Keynes before Sergio Perez was parachuted in to replace him.

After sitting out the 2021 F1 season, the Thai driver headed to Grove, where he was faced with the same problem, but at the complete opposite end of the spectrum.

Neither Nicholas Latifi nor Logan Sargeant came close to challenging Albon. In his time alongside the pair, the two-time podium finisher over-matched and out-classed both.

Against the former, he scored double the number of points in 2022, prior to demolishing the latter in the year-and-a-half or so before he was replaced by Franco Colapinto for the final nine rounds of last term. Overall, Albon out-scored the American 31 to 1.

It was, however, qualifying where the comparisons, and subsequent contrasts, have been particularly telling. In his first campaign with Williams, Albon won his grid-setting head-to-head against Latifi 19-2.

When Sargeant took the seat, the disparity worsened further still. In grand prix qualifying, He beat the 24-year-old 35-0 in representative sessions (2024 Australian and Dutch Grand Prix not included).

Obscured picture

Given the extent to which Albon has been able to dominate his team-mates at Williams, it has considerably obscured the picture of how well he has been performing and, in many cases, how well the car has been operating.

Crucially, it has prevented an opportunity to establish the level Albon has been consistently competing at and what he might be ultimately capable of achieving in F1.

Admittedly, Colapinto was more representative, but a nine-round run is not nearly enough of a sample size to draw fair conclusions - on either driver.

And whilst they were closer, Albon still enjoyed the upper hand - in terms of both points finishes and qualifying performance - in what was an uncharacteristically error and crash-prone period for the 28-year-old.

But now, with Sainz alongside, there is the chance to truly assess Albon against a known quantity of a driver, one who is undeniably of high quality.

The Spaniard has repeatedly had to prove his credentials and is a four-time grand prix winner who fared well against Charles Leclerc at Ferrari.

In fact, over the past season, his performances were of a calibre that has cast considerable doubt over the Scuderia's decision to drop him in favour of Lewis Hamilton.

Why it will be make or break

As far as benchmarks go, Sainz is a good one. Whilst only a couple of years older than Albon, he has already achieved more than the average F1 driver could hope to in a career.

The narrative currently surrounding Albon is that he is a top midfield runner and someone who could mix it at the sharp end if given the chance again - and that he should get another opportunity to do so.

Whether staying put at Williams could provide that is a different question for a different day, but it is imperative Albon acquits himself well against Sainz if he is ever to prise open that chance elsewhere in the F1 paddock.

Williams is well invested in him and, as yet, has not shown any indication it would move off him. So, unless he is utterly trounced by his new team-mate over the next two seasons, his seat in Grove is safe for now.

Albon does not have to - and is not expected to - comfortably have the measure on Sainz, let alone comprehensively beat him. 

What is expected, however, is that he can test and push the Spanish driver - and vice-versa, for what it is worth.

According to team principal James Vowles, that is already happening. Whether the same occurs on track is a different matter, but unless Albon accepts being consigned to the midfield for the rest of his F1 career, it has to.

Getting the better of Sainz week in, week out, is a tall order and an unreasonable ask being made by no one. And although failure to even be competitive against him could be deathly for Albon's higher F1 aspirations, anything more could re-open doors to the Thai driver further up the grid.