Alex Albon scored his best qualifying result of the season at the Monaco Grand Prix. The Williams driver set the ninth-fastest time in Q3 around the famous street circuit.
Albon was making his first appearance in the top 10 shoot-out all season. He hadn’t qualified any higher than 12th in 2024 and had been 14th on the grid for the last four Grands Prix.
Williams came into the weekend as one of two teams yet to score a point alongside Sauber. But their star driver delivered a massive boost with his Saturday display, out-pacing midfield rival Pierre Gasly (P10) and lapping within a tenth of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda (P8).
Albon reached Q3 seven times last term as he scored 27 points for the Grove outfit. He’s had to wait until the eighth round to get off the mark this year in an overweight FW46.
The 28-year-old continues to whitewash teammate Logan Sargeant in the Grand Prix qualifying head-to-head. In fact, Sargeant has only outpaced him in one meaningful session this year (Miami GP sprint qualifying).
Max Verstappen is the only other driver who’s started every race ahead of the sister car. He now leads Sergio Perez 8-0 after the Mexican’s dismal Q1 exit.
Alex Albon mocks Carlos Sainz over ‘weak’ impeding complaint in Monaco
Albon recovered from a slightly messy start to the session as he was involved in a couple of incidents with Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard is facing a trip to the stewards for potentially impeding the Williams in the final sector.
Sainz qualified third on the grid but could potentially incur a three-place grid drop if the stewards deem the offence sufficiently serious. That was the penalty they handed to Oscar Piastri for blocking Kevin Magnussen at the previous race at Imola.
Moments later, Albon tried to get out of Sainz’s way through Casino Square. The two drivers were out of sync, with one pushing while the other was on a slow lap.
Sainz didn’t seem overly pleased with Albon’s efforts, complaining of ‘traffic’ over team radio. But reacting to the footage after the session in an interview with Sky Sports F1, the former Red Bull driver pointed out Sainz’s hypocrisy.
“What?” he said. “Is that it? That’s weak. It happens, but he blocked me on lap one, so I hope it’s fair game.”
How Williams factory reacted to Alex Albon contract announcement
Albon’s qualifying heroics will further lift the mood at Williams, who are still riding the high of his contract extension. He attracted interest from Red Bull and even Mercedes, but opted to pen a new deal instead.
Team principal James Vowles says the roof ‘lifted off’ the team’s factory when he confirmed the news. He sees it as a ‘massive’ step in the right direction.
Vowles is showing plenty of ambition despite his squad’s current predicament. He’s talked up the idea of bringing legendary designer Adrian Newey back to the team.
And it’s emerged in Monaco that their interest in Sainz has reached an advanced stage. The free-agent Ferrari driver has now received a ‘satisfactory’ offer from the 114-time race-winners.
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