Finishing just outside of the points in P11 after putting up a strong fight, Alex Albon had quite a tricky weekend at the F1 Qatar GP. The Thai driver suffered from the tyre strategy restrictions caused by the Safety Car. Nevertheless, there is one more round to hopefully finish off the 2025 season on a high note for the Williams driver.
Following a streak of bad luck and some poor performances, Albon’s last time in the points was at the F1 US GP in the Sprint. However, his position in the Drivers’ Championship better reflects his efforts. Currently P8 in the standings, the 29-year-old showed incredible consistency in the first half of the year as he has kept ahead of his teammate, Carlos Sainz.
Planning on no Safety Cars
Starting the F1 Qatar GP in P14, Alex Albon confessed he and his team were hoping to make good use of their fresh set of hards. Yet, Williams’ tyre strategy rested on there being no Safety Cars in the race. As the Thai driver explained in the print media pen, he ended up being surprisingly disadvantaged by that lap 7 SC.
Furthermore, Albon gave a detailed overview of his time around the Lusail International Circuit:
“Yeah, tricky. I think the safety car basically made it where everyone had the same strategy. So I can’t really do anything there. Maybe didn’t have the pace to get through the Red Bulls and the RBs. But we were kind of banking, well, our whole strategy depended on not having any safety cars.
“So we had the hard tyre to start the race. We tried to benefit and get some clean air at the end of that first stint. But once the safety car came out, it was basically game over.”
Hopes high for Abu Dhabi
With the 2025 season coming to an end, Alex Albon has one last opportunity to score points after the F1 Qatar GP disappointment. With Williams’ provisional P5 in the Constructors’ Championship, the team and its drivers have a lot to celebrate.
The Thai driver acknowledged the importance of this result for his team, praising the factory workers for their competitiveness this year. Additionally, Albon shared his hopes of an assertive result at the Abu Dhabi finale:
“Yes. First of all, I think it’s P5 in the constructors for us. Obviously, a big, huge well done to everyone at the factory, I think. It’s been a big step for us this year, and everyone deserves it at the team. But like you said, we’ve got one more race to finish. Hopefully we can finish up on a strong.”
