Alex Albon has named his P5 finish at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as his proudest moment of 2025, with the Thai driver admitting that the result came as a “surprise to all of us” ahead of what would prove to be a promising campaign for Williams.
After ending the previous season down in ninth place with 17 points, the Grove-based squad kicked off this year with intent, Albon having secured P6 on the grid during Qualifying for the opening race in Melbourne.
From there the 29-year-old navigated an eventful Grand Prix that featured changing weather conditions, several crashes and a Safety Car phase to secure P5, a result that had initially looked like being P4 until Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli was reinstated in fourth post-race following an earlier penalty.
When asked what he was most proud of during the season – in which he recorded a further three fifth-place finishes – Albon explained: “I would say the first race of the year. It’s kind of a bit obvious in many ways, but that was my best result for the team.
“It happened in race one, it was a surprise for all of us heading into the first race of the year and it just seems to have created this amazing start to the season.
“I remember – I think I was P4 on track at the time – thinking, ‘Well, this is never going to happen again’, and then in the end it happened a few more times.”
Williams would go on to end 2025 in P5 of the Teams’ Championship with a total of 137 points, a remarkable step forward from their previous tally.
Reflecting on what has made the difference this season, Albon paid tribute to Team Principal James Vowles – who joined in 2013 – as he responded: “I think the culture in the team. James has huge credit for that.
“It feels like there’s really an openness within our team now, a willingness to learn, to improve. There’s no ego in the team as well. I can’t speak for other teams, but I think that’s a really powerful thing to have.
“It’s positive, the energy is great and that’s really what’s driving this team forward.”
In terms of Albon’s own season, a strong start was followed by a tougher run during the second half of the campaign; in contrast, new team mate Carlos Sainz experienced a trickier opening to his year but gained momentum in the latter stages, collecting two podiums along the way.
Despite this, Albon believes that his campaign was a positive one overall.
“I feel like I still had an amazing year for most of it,” he said. “It feels like it’s not been overnight, it’s been four years in the making this P5 and it’s showing the signs of us becoming a top team.
“There’s still many more years ahead of us. I think the gap between P10-P5 is smaller than the gap between P5-P1 in terms of performance and where we want to be, but very proud of the team, proud of myself and ready for next year.”
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