Williams driver Alex Albon delivered another points-scoring performance at the 2025 F1 Japanese GP, finishing ninth in a race he candidly described as “boring”. Despite facing challenges with his car’s balance and questioning team strategy decisions during the race, the Thai-British driver maintained his composure to secure valuable championship points.
In a race dominated by Max Verstappen, who claimed his fourth consecutive victory at Suzuka, Albon made several impressive overtaking manoeuvres, including a bold pass around the outside of Esteban Ocon at turn 1. Later in the race, Carlos Sainz let him through before Albon overtook Liam Lawson into the chicane.
Frustrations with the strategy call during the F1 Japanese GP
Speaking to the written media after the race, Albon addressed his animated radio communications regarding team strategy. “I think it was a boring race so they kept using my radio,” he quipped. “In terms of strategy, I didn’t feel like we needed to lose time behind Max because he overtook us. We lost about a second and a half to Isaac in that process, and then we boxed immediately after he overtook me.”
Albon didn’t hold back about his frustrations during the race. “Yeah, obviously if we could have pitted the same lap as Ollie and pitted the lap before we wouldn’t have had the issue at all,” he explained. “It was more because we were, I guess in my head I’m always racing the car in front, not the car behind. I don’t want to lose time to Isack.”
Despite his mid-race concerns, Albon maintained a positive outlook on the team’s performance, particularly given the challenging conditions. The Williams driver said, “I think the car didn’t feel that easy to drive this weekend. I think the wind and some of the corners weren’t playing to our favour. I think on Friday the car, that wind suited us more, and it flipped 180 degrees on Sunday.”
Albon took pride in securing points despite the difficulties, saying, “But we still scored points and that just shows you, even on our days that we’re not that optimal, we’re able to still score some points so yeah, very happy.”
Albon was satisfied with his F1 Japanese GP performance
In an F1 Japanese GP where all 20 starters reached the chequered flag, Albon emphasised that scoring points was no small achievement. “On a day when 20 cars finish you’ve got to be happy. Very happy, very happy,” he stated.
“Like I said, it wasn’t easy out there and I felt like we were quite limited in terms of the balance of our car. High speed, low speed, we were on the extremes of two different balances and two different speeds of corners. So to be able to get there, I’m happy.”
While Verstappen claimed victory ahead of McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, with Charles Leclerc and George Russell completing the top five, the Japanese Grand Prix also proved significant for rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The young Mercedes driver finished sixth while briefly leading the race, becoming the youngest race leader in Formula 1 history.
Albon’s ninth-place finish contributed to a points haul that included Ferrari’s Hamilton in seventh, Hadjar securing his first F1 points in eighth, and Bearman rounding out the top 10.
