Williams Team Principal James Vowles has revealed that Carlos Sainz provided ‘key information’ on the pit wall, as Alex Albon secured a P5 finish at the Australian GP.
Carlos Sainz crashed out of the opening race of the 2025 season on the first lap, losing the rear of his FW47 at the final corner, whilst under safety car conditions.
However, after completing his media duties, the Spaniard made his way back to the Williams pit wall, to help out with his team mate’s strategy calls.
With 15 laps left in Melbourne, the rain started to fall, and chaos ensued as the drivers struggled to keep their cars on the slippery track.
With the insight of Carlos Sainz to hand, Williams switched Alex Albon onto intermediate tyres at the perfect time, helping the 28 year old to an impressive result.
Carlos Sainz insight was ‘key’
After the conclusion of the race, Vowles explained how Carlos Sainz had helped decide Albon’s strategy.
“Carlos was up on the pit wall right beside me and his insight was fantastic,” said Vowles.
“He looked at the (weather) radar and went – ‘when that hits, they won’t stay on track, simple as that.’
“You could see the big decision today was, ‘do you stop or not?’ and you saw the field was split.
“Carlos’ information was key towards this, so it is a group effort really in that regard, it was fantastic to see.”
Albon revealed that he was actually against the decision to pit for intermediates, but trusted his team, which paid off in the end.
He said: “They (the team) knew exactly when the rain was going to hit and how hard it was going to hit.
“Honestly, if you listen to the radio I was against it, I thought, ‘what are we doing? It’s bone dry coming out of the pit lane.’
“I was like, ‘okay, we’ve definitely lost out here’, but it was all right.”
Albon thinks Carlos Sainz ‘experience’ gives Williams edge over rivals
There are six rookies on the grid for the 2025 Formula 1 season, but only two managed to reach the Chequered Flag at Albert Park, with Isack Hadjar, Gabriel Bortoleto, Liam Lawson, and Jack Doohan all crashing out of the race.
The Williams driver lineup is one of the most experienced on the grid, and Albon sees this as an advantage.
He said: “We’ve got the experience over our rivals.
“When I look at a lot of rookies coming in, it’s and opportunity, and that’s not to discredit them at all. It’s just that we know what it feels like to drive in these conditions and we know how hard it is.
“Honestly, I was under driving for most of that race because you don’t know where that limit is.“
Feature Image Credit: @WilliamsRacing on X
