Alexander Albon labelled Williams’ performance during the Friday Free Practice (FP) sessions at the 2025 F1 Canadian GP as “very positive” following a promising showing in both sessions. The Thai-British driver placed second in F1 and followed that with fourth in FP2, demonstrating that the FW47 is well-suited to the conditions at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.
The Grove-based outfit came into the weekend looking to rebound after a difficult Spanish GP. From the moment the cars took to the track in Montreal, Albon felt confident in the balance and performance of the car, though he acknowledged that an alternative run plan may have boosted their early position on the timesheets.
“Yeah, very positive. We hit the ground running, I think we were maybe running a different programme to everyone else in FP1 at least, so maybe flattered ourselves with it. But FP2, [we were] feeling okay. I think we struggled a little bit with the brakes throughout today, so we lost a little bit of confidence and rhythm which around here is very important. But the base car is strong, I think we have a good package underneath us. I think Q3 is within our targets for tomorrow.”
Solid foundation despite braking issues
Montreal is known for its stop-start layout and heavy braking zones, which present a particular challenge to teams in terms of brake cooling and stability. Albon admitted that brake performance limited his rhythm during the sessions, but remained optimistic due to the car’s underlying pace.
“It’s one of those ones where the car still doesn’t feel fantastic – we still have some work to do.”
He continued, “It’s good, it shows there is a bigger envelope we need to explore. It’s good because we are quick, you don’t want to change too much – there is a bit of balance between it. I don’t think we are quite there yet, and if we want to score big points we are going to have to make the car quicker.”
Eyes on Qualifying and the midfield fight
Albon’s comments revealed a careful balance between ambition and realism at Willims. Although encouraged by their early pace, he recognised that further fine-tuning would be essential to remain competitive through Qualifying and into the race. If Albon and the engineering team can address the braking issues and extract a more consistent performance from the car, the 2025 F1 Canadian GP could mark a significant step forward in the team’s 2025 campaign.
