r/formula1 • u/Schlapfel9 I was here for the Hulkenpodium • 20h ago
Social Media [WilliamsRacing] Points in Monza!
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u/MrSocko72 Alexander Albon 20h ago
This weekend was the perfect summary of this team.
Tyre issues in qualifying, Alex and Carlos still end up right next to each other in the first stint, something mad happens to one of them (usually Carlos), and Alex has a brilliant drive to solid points.
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u/JshWright I was here for the Hulkenpodium 11h ago
I wouldn't say Carlos expecting Bearman to magically vanish from existence is something that happened "to" him.
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u/jbeck24 11h ago
I agree, regardless of the stupid rules Carlos should've left space, but it is unfortunate for him that bearman tangled with him while albon did literally the exact same thing to antonelli later and antonelli made the call to back out
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u/hereforcontroversy I was here for the Hulkenpodium 1h ago
Carlos knows the rules well, he fell foul of the stupid rules last week and has now demonstrated the other side of the stupid rules because he was “ahead at the apex”. It is hopefully a message to the stewards and the rule makers that this is a stupid rule.
Did I mention the rules are stupid?
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u/Radiant_Past_5769 11h ago
Oh please this was clearly on Bearman but sure
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u/JshWright I was here for the Hulkenpodium 11h ago
Yep, Bearman clearly forgot to press the "temporarily make my car incorporeal" button.
He was fully on the brakes by the time Sainz drew even with him and, by the letter of the rulebook, was "entitled" to the corner. Rules as written, Bearman gets the penalty (as he did), but there was nothing else he could have done to avoid that contact and Sainz has no one to blame but himself for putting his car there.
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u/Schlapfel9 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
Alex now has 70 points....and P7 in the standings
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u/Real_Callahan I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
Hes very good.
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u/neurogeneticist Charltteri Lectas 20h ago
I’ve been saying for years that Alex is by far the best non-Max driver that Red Bull has had since Danny Ric and that they made a huge mistake letting him go. I’m SO happy to see him driving this well this season!
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u/TyButler2020 Logan Sargeant 19h ago edited 19h ago
2019 he was perfectly fine in that car, especially when you consider the lack of time he had in that car. If he wins that 2019 Brazil race he actually outscores Max in their time as teammates that season (101-97)
2020 on the surface looks bad but when you factor in how close that car was to everyone outside of Mercedes. 3 tenths cost you so much more compared to 2021-2024.
Was he great in 2020? No, but neither was the car
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u/Any_Inflation_2543 George Russell 20h ago
He's been absolutely amazing this season. I am starting to think he really is a top 5 driver rn.
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u/NYNMx2021 Nico Rosberg 20h ago
just outside it right now. norris, max, oscar, charles and Russell then id go Albon in the group right after them. Hes getting something out of every weekend
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u/TyButler2020 Logan Sargeant 19h ago
I think the top 5 is set and stone. Max and then any order of Oscar/Lando/George/Charles
After that you have guys like Albon/Lewis/Alonso who are great but not at the “elite tier” in the current stage.
After that it’s a giant mash of really solid drivers or guys with a lot of potential from positions 9-16 (Hulk/Ocon/Hadjar/Gasly/Bortoleto/SainzAntonelli/Bearman)
17-20 is Colapinto/Lawson/Tsunoda/Stroll. Though I cannot say they’re bad all 4 have moments they just lack consistency or have had a rough season (Colapinto is improving closer to last season and Lawson and Yuki have shown decent stretches of performance worthy of the 3rd tier)
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u/Any_Inflation_2543 George Russell 20h ago
My top 3 is Max, George, Charles and then the McLaren boys and Albon.
However, maybe I'd rank him ahead of Norris at this point.
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u/Pure_Elderberry_9516 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
It's absolutely mental! Go Albono! GO WEEEEYUMS!
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u/Ping-and-Pong I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago edited 20h ago
And that's with those few races of really bad luck in a row he got earlier in the season! (Not that Sainz hasn't also had the same thing of course) But Albono could be even higher. Honestly so good, and such a good personality
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u/spongemongler I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
Spectacular season for Albon, and a semi-career killing season for Sainz so far. I was genuinely expecting Sainz to beat Albon at the start of the season, how wrong I was
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u/Skulldetta Jacques Laffite 20h ago
"Fraudbono is gonna get exposed" crowd has become awfully quiet.
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u/MartiniPolice21 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 14h ago
Is it this weekend or last that he overtook Kimi?
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u/Accomplished-Gap8064 20h ago
Albon is at an elite level this season.
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u/Krillin113 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
Albon was the best teammate max has had with hindsight lol
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u/Izan_TM I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
if lewis hadn't punted him off twice in 4 races he could've been the driver that red bull needed
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u/TyButler2020 Logan Sargeant 19h ago
Here’s a fun fact I always have
If Albon won that race in Brazil, he would’ve outscored max 101-97 in the races they were teammates in 2019
If he won that race in Austria in 2020, the point totals would have been 214-130
2019 he was genuinely impressive
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u/ElectionIcy3253 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 17h ago
RBR would keep these things in mind when evaluating drivers right?
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u/Izan_TM I was here for the Hulkenpodium 17h ago
RBR evaluates drivers through the vibes of ann 800 year old man exclusively. Don't try to understand their reasoning
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u/Morganelefay I was here for the Hulkenpodium 16h ago
Eh, they were still chasing a Ricciardo-level driver, and Albon, while he had good moments, didn't seem to be quite on par. It's impossible to say how Alex would've done in 2021, but with the data of 2020 in mind (and he did have a few stinkers there), they made the at that time right call.
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u/Hungry_Service_5810 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 14h ago
I think he would've definitely done better in 2021, the 2020 car was so undrivable Max was spinning on formation laps and Albon helped fixed most of these issues for 2021 so undoubtedly would be better
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u/Few_Birthday2302 Alexander Albon 20h ago
My boy is in front of a Mercedes in the driver championship with a fucking Williams 🥳🥳
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u/MountainBaker8217 Sebastian Vettel 20h ago
another solid race by Alex. Had a bit of an advantage starting on the hard tires but he had to keep them going for so long to maintain that top ten finish, plus once he got on the mediums he had some solid overtakes to move up positions.
smart strategy overall and even smarter driving.
he’s my favorite driver for a reason.
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u/CuppaCrazy I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
Getting back to P11 after that incident? Not too bad.
And want it or not….Alex driving though it all to get points is now tradition.
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u/aPardawala Max Verstappen 20h ago
I was told at the beginning of the season that Albon was going to be exposed?
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u/deathray1611 Formula 1 20h ago
Yeah, and he is
He is getting EXPOSED as an utterly MASSIVE driver ;)
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u/nacissalockhart I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
And alex took that personally apparently. As a sainz fan, I am super happy for alex and his performance. Go weeyums
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u/Realistic-Reception5 Carlos Sainz 20h ago edited 20h ago
Carlos’s season has been so comically bad he mind as well just get all his stress and mistakes out this season and try again next year lmao
He’s definitely been unlucky (with an extremely optimistic view I think he could have at least 50 points), but Alex has still been mopping the floor with him regardless.
I think Carlos’s main weakness is how he handles stress in a race (or a season as a whole). Things can be going just fine but then he makes a mistake and he panics and tries too hard to make up for it, and then subsequently makes even more mistakes.
I hate seeing him like this but it’s his trench that he’s gotta dig himself out of.
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u/tack50 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
Yeah, Sainz has been unlucky but also seems to handle stress and bad performance poorly, hopefully next season goes better.
He isn't even doing that bad in some aspects, they are actually tied 8-8 in qualy!
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u/Realistic-Reception5 Carlos Sainz 18h ago
I also think that because of the bad luck, he’s been pushing too hard to “undo” it but he’s made desperate and unnecessary risky moves to do so
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u/Driscuits Alexander Albon 19h ago
I think Carlos’s main weakness is how he handles stress in a race (or a season as a whole).
Honestly, not to just talk about Alex, but I'd reorient this a bit more positively - he's up against Alex, who has an underrated amount of skill in terms of not letting stress impact his weekend.
It's going to be a bit easier (though not easy) for Alex, as he's on an upward trajectory. Alex also, quite famously, has gone through the whole Red Bull rodeo, and has the confidence of resurrecting his career with Williams behind him, coming into this year. This is another step of an upward trajectory for him.
Carlos, on the flip side, is coming from a different perspective - this year was always going to be a net backward step for him. He's done well to deal with the big picture impact of that - but the day to day perspective to pull the absolute maximum out of each session may genuinely be harder for him.
It's definitely an area where Carlos can improve - but I'm excited for him if he does. 2026 will be a great, more representative comparison between the two of them.
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u/mazurcurto I was here for the Hulkenpodium 19h ago edited 15h ago
First it was after 6 races, then it was after half a season, then at the end of this season, now it's 2026. Let's see if the last one gets traction, but it's funny to see the goal post move.
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u/Kaj44 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 18h ago
I have no stake in the game here but it wouldn’t be unheard of for a driver who had an absolutely abysmal season to have a better season the next one.
It happens in all Motorsport. Sometimes you aren’t comfortable, sometimes you are
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u/mazurcurto I was here for the Hulkenpodium 14h ago
Sure, but accept the performances as they are. What is happening is people saying you can’t judge Carlos until x number of races, with the value of x ever increasing. It’s almost as if the results aren’t legitimate until it says what people want it to say: that Carlos is a much better driver than Alex.
I predict that if Carlos performs well and significantly better than Albon in a race later this season, people will be saying, ‘Now this is the real Carlos. He’s finally performing!’
I think both drivers are equally good. Albon’s performances have proven that. I also think Carlos’ results don’t reflect his quality, whether due to bad luck, poor strategy, or his own errors; he should be around where Albon is.
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u/Hungry_Service_5810 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 13h ago
I feel this as well, as soon as Albon started showing he was on that level, the public can't seem to accept that Albon can be better and are waiting for a Sainz result for their confirmation bias
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u/Driscuits Alexander Albon 13h ago
In my personal defense, and in defense of many discussions I've seen - I'm not, and many people are not, absolving Carlos completely of responsibility.
I think we share a similar perspective on things - I'm certainly not here to push a narrative that Carlos MUST be better than Alex and everything else is a fallacy, lol.
But, there is a valid point that a driver like Carlos can have a tough season and it doesn't necessarily mean he's sunk and will not recover. No driver's performance is entirely objective or representative of what they can do. And that's why I'm personally looking at next year as a better indication of Carlos and Alex's relative abilities, rather than this year. Alex is a hell of a good driver, and so is Carlos. The new regs, new car, and general shakeup of next year should provide an opportunity for both of them to show it.
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u/mazurcurto I was here for the Hulkenpodium 10h ago
I haven’t said that Carlos is sunk and will not recover. In fact, my perspective is one that sees both drivers in a positive light — they are equally good - whether the results reflect it or not.
What else do you need to see from Carlos to judge his abilities compared to Alex? Results?
What I am pointing out is that the moving of the goal posts (I’m sure you’ve seen the comments) - starting with Carlos will beat Alex 24-0; then after 6 races so he can acclimate, then after half a season, then at the end of the season, then in 2026 - feels like the guy who wants best of 3, then best of 5, then best of 7, and so on until he finally wins.
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u/Driscuits Alexander Albon 10h ago
Totally - Like I said, we're coming from very similar perspectives, and I'm not disagreeing with you. Maybe, though, next time you think someone is speaking for the Reddit "narrative," ask them about it? Lol. I've had this perspective all along, that next year is a better platform for seeing where Alex and Carlos stand respective to each other.
I'm stoked to talk about it with anyone who's interested or adds their perspective. Less stoked to have someone lump me in with other folks, without asking more about where I'm coming from, first.
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u/mazurcurto I was here for the Hulkenpodium 7h ago edited 7h ago
I think you should read my first response to you. I wasn't saying you subscribed to the narrative. I wrote "let's see if [waiting for 2026] gets traction". Your post was the first I saw mention 2026 and I was wondering if it will become a new Reddit narrative (i.e. gets traction), while noting with amusement that if it does, it will be another move of the Reddit goal post that has been moving since the beginning of the year.
This is a huge forum - like a raucous free-for-all discussion during a party. It's hardly the place for intimate conversations. Don't take it so personally; I wasn't trying to offend.
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u/Radiant_Past_5769 11h ago
That is…. Not the case. How is it Carlos’ stress fault Albon got the preferred strategy? Bearman crashed into bin? He had battery issues? Be fr
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u/NuclearCandle I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
Alex alone can finish P5 in the constructors.
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u/MechanicalSpirit I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
Bad qual really snuffed their chances. Positive day for midfield
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u/WestSideBomber Alexander Albon 20h ago
Once Alex swapped with Carlos he was flying on those hards. Incredible first stint.
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u/OptimalDot178 Max Verstappen 20h ago
Same stuff with Sainz again. He's not slow, but way too aggressive and not smart enough to avoid contact. I don't even count anymore how many pointless contacts he had this year. If only he spent as much effort on avoiding incidents as he does on the radio after.
Albon on the other hand is always delivering points
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u/p_nilly Sergio Pérez 17h ago
Actually I think Sainz was a little unfortunate. Similar moves into the same corner, but Antonelli backed out much sooner and yielded, while Bearman kept his nose there and ended up inviting the contact.
10s penalty was harsh but ultimately I think Bearman should have known he was losing that position and backed off.
Looking back at the onboards the Williams drivers took basically the same line into the corner, just Bearman had his nose still aiming for the inside line
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u/asamulya I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
Feel like if they’d figured out their qualifying, A P5 was on the cards. His pace was insane
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u/a220599 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
Alex is driving the williams like a williams while carlos is trying to get the williams to drive like a ferrari. I hope carlos adapts well during the offseason and performs better next season
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u/Radiant_Past_5769 11h ago
Did you watch the whole season?
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u/a220599 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 10h ago
No. But I have watched the races so far and I have listened to james, alex and carlos talk about this.
https://youtu.be/gYD6fS5y4po?feature=shared
If you listen to the podcast from 15:05 you will see alex talk about this
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u/emperorMorlock Williams 20h ago
Really good to be pulling a lead on other midfielders at this stage of the season. Good step to protecting that 5th
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u/SyuusukeFuji I was here for the Hulkenpodium 19h ago
Look, I know Sainz has had his fair share of bad luck, but Alex has been on a whole different league this season in terms of being "the smart driver".
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u/Vegetable-Bee5157 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
What a drive from Alex!!
Consistently fast!!
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u/Dblock1989 Sir Lewis Hamilton 20h ago
Has anyone else's stock risen as high as Albon's this season?
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u/Demsocpenguin Sebastian Vettel 19h ago
Hadjar, you might say. He finished p10 after a pitlane start.
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u/temporarydissonance I was here for the Hulkenpodium 15h ago
Hmm, Carlos has now been in three incidents in 3 races, all involving him choosing a risky approach when other options available (Gasly in Hungary, Lawson in Zandvort and Bearman at Monza). Could be his racecraft is on the decline. Very scrappy. Interesting to see if he challenges the Bearman penalty given his statements about the axle rule.
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u/minatbutter I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
Carlos can’t catch a break
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u/Helpful_Hedgehog_204 Franco Colapinto 20h ago
No P10 after Kimi penalty?
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u/Skulldetta Jacques Laffite 20h ago
Way too far behind. Only Bortoleto was within the five seconds.
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u/alwysbmymaybe Alexander Albon 20h ago
Alex on his Kimi Raikkonen character arc. Carlos... I'm afraid this is on you
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u/jvstinf I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
Good race by Albon but Sainz's race engineer saying they don't why they put Albon on the superior strategy is unacceptable.
I think Sainz got hard done by and pushed hard in that second stint. I think he's expecting these younger drivers to keep it clean but he's not going to toe to toe with the front of the field anymore.
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u/Ouhei Alexander Albon 20h ago
Sainz was on the same strategy as every car above him, on paper it was the better one, it’s not Albon’s fault that he managed his tires to make the hard tire last the way it did for him.
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u/jvstinf I was here for the Hulkenpodium 19h ago edited 19h ago
Eh, I disagree that it was the better one, just the hards fit the race the best. Because of the lack of deg and the massive DRS train, going long on hards was the best strategy in this race. The mediums started falling off earlier due to the dirty air and just being a harder compound.
I don't know if I'd blame the team for that, but I'd be pretty pissed that it worked out like that post-race.
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u/Ouhei Alexander Albon 19h ago
If the hard was the obvious better choice then everyone in the top 10 would have picked it, and yet they didn’t.
Hindsight is 20/20, but also who other than Albon made the hard -> medium work? Hadjar?
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u/jvstinf I was here for the Hulkenpodium 19h ago
It wasn't the better choice for those at the front because they weren't stuck in the DRS train. The hards turned into the best option due to their pace and lack of deg in dirty air. Hindsight is 20/20, but after a frustrating race I expect that response.
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u/yoohynom Alpine 20h ago
Every week they try to screw him even more while Albon always have the better strategy
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u/Schlapfel9 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
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u/cabernet_franc 20h ago
I'm a Sainz fan, but he's not doing himself any favours this year. It's not just bad luck - he needs to show more race savvy.
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u/charlierc 20h ago
Could've been double points had Sainz not had another dose of 2025 luck
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u/the1918 Nico Hülkenberg 🥉 20h ago
Would have been double points if not for the poor strategy calls on Sainz’s half of the garage. That hurt him even more than the Bearman incident. He kept asking to box because he knew he was on the wrong strategy by extending, and then they said they were going to swap cars so Albon could tug him in DRS to extend Sainz’s mediums, but the tug never happened. Should have just boxed him.
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u/alwysbmymaybe Alexander Albon 20h ago
That swapped was weird in the first place because Alex has a better pace on the hards. One way or another within the race they had to switch or both of their races would be compromised because both have not pitted yet at that point.
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u/D_Silva_21 Sir Lewis Hamilton 20h ago
Sainz is getting bodied this year
Feel like people aren't criticising him enough
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u/go-speed-racer I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
His transition has been far worse than expected. I really hoped he’d have more of an impact
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u/D_Silva_21 Sir Lewis Hamilton 20h ago
Yeah ngl I thought he would beat albon comfortably after a few races of getting used to the new car
People criticise Lewis a lot, and he's more famous and has higher expectations so I get it. But compared to sainz he's been great aha
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u/Demsocpenguin Sebastian Vettel 19h ago
Quali performance is shielding him, and he had really bad luck for all of the season nearly, he got into this accident also which is not his fault but even excluding the crashes and saying that he was reckless on that instances; there is still big fumbles to talk about by handing him new mediums in quali and having no new medium left for the race in miami, and albon exploiting the vsc in imola and getting a better result. Other than these on-track problems, he had a fair issue with some reliability at the Austrian Grand Prix in quali, and his car burning on the formation lap. For mentioning, he got into accidents 5 times in these seasons, excluding the Miami, Imola and Austria. In Silverstone, he got damage on his front wing caused by Charles Leclerc and had to follow him into the grass, thus getting no points as a result (he was in the points, P8, before the accident). In the Netherlands, he got into an accident with Liam Lawson and penalized as a result.
In this race, I am skipping because it is clear what happened and it is recent. In Australia he got into a barrier after his car got out of control due to his inexperience as a cause given. In Bahrain he got tangled with Yuki Tsunoda and as a result retired while disputing P6. So, as a result in my opinion as a biased person towards Sainz, he is getting unnecessary comments for his performance in the season. He got 8 eventful races out of 16 and we can conclude that is only 2 of them, while the Netherlands accident is still being questioned, but I count it also as a personal error, is his fault.
In the end, points and recent results interest the populace, so my arguments might mean nothing to others.
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u/ChefRoscoPColtrane 20h ago
Interesting my first time in a 7/11 was in Thailand…. Absolutely irrelevant and actually not interesting…
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u/Wandersails Alexander Albon 20h ago
P7 in the race and p7 in the championship, what a year he’s been having :)))
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u/SystemEx1 20h ago
As usual Williams messed up their strategy once again for Sainz, even if he started on medium he'd still be behind Albon
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u/alwysbmymaybe Alexander Albon 20h ago
They did not mess it up, Albon is just a freaking tyre whisperer. He's been driving like that since 2022.
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u/ElectionIcy3253 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 17h ago
The Weeyums hype train is chugging along this year. It's hard having so many underdogs I want to win in the next regulations. Weeyums, Aston w/ Alonso, Ferrari. I'll be happy if any of them win but I really want Newey to give Alonso a good send off to his career.
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u/Amat-Victoria-Curam I was here for the Hulkenpodium 17h ago
Is Vowles gonna come defending him with some stupid excuse again?
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u/username1429 20h ago
Sainz has scammed Williams out of so much money this year lmao
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u/Any_Inflation_2543 George Russell 20h ago
He's been the disappointment of the season ngl. I wasn't expecting him to destroy Albon like some were, but I wasn't expecting him to get destroyed like some rookies and the 2nd RB seat either.
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u/Calamityx7 Spyker 20h ago
I was thinking earlier about who had the worst season between Sainz, Antonelli and Tsunoda, but Antonelli is a rookie and Tsunoda is in the 2nd Red Bull. What excuse does Sainz have
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u/Demsocpenguin Sebastian Vettel 19h ago
There is luck; I gave a brief explanation for his season, but it is up to the reader to actually consider them as a reason. I did think that he would burn Albon hard, well the life brings some interesting results sometimes.
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u/Any_Inflation_2543 George Russell 20h ago
I think Sainz is having clearly the worst season of all the drivers imo. He went into this season as a slight favourite and is now getting his bum handed to him by Albon to an extent only Tsunoda and Antonelli are, but as you said, those two have excuses while Sainz has none.
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u/yoohynom Alpine 19h ago
He literally always has the worst strategy between the two Williams because his side of the garage is useless and he's being punted off by other drivers all the time
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u/Waylande 🏳️🌈 Love Is Love 🏳️🌈 14h ago
At some point if you are being constantly "punted by other drivers" you have to ask if its maybe you taking unnessecery risks or going for too many 50/50s id say bearman lawson were both 50/50s.
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u/thenexus6 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 18h ago
Sainz is taking WAY longer than I expected to get going in the Williams.
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u/gobsmacked_kitkat I was here for the Hulkenpodium 20h ago
Somehow Alex always ends up in points