Alex Albon’s season ended with a disappointing trip to the F1 Abu Dhabi GP, where the Williams driver qualified 17th and finished 16th.
Two-stop strategy fails to pan out at F1 Abu Dhabi GP
He was one of the drivers adopting a two-stop strategy, including Nico Hulkenberg, who started 18th. While the Sauber driver parlayed that strategy into 9th-place at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP, Albon only gained one position. Looking back, he still believes it was the right call.
“Going for the two-stop, I think actually not a bad strategy. Just think we kind of pitted too late on the first stint and too early on the second stint. So I felt like we got undercut by Nico in the first stint, and then on the second stint didn’t stay out long enough to get a proper pace advantage at the end of the first stint like Lance [Stroll] or Nico.“
“It happens, I think there’s some things to learn there. But maybe I could have done better on the communication to tell the team what to do.”
For Alex Albon and Williams, a big step forward in 2025
The result ends a rough final third of the season for Albon, who scored just three points—at the Austin sprint race—over the last eight race weekends. Nevertheless, his performance over the rest of the season placed him 8th in points, the highest for a Williams driver since Valtteri Bottas in 2016, and best-placed after the contending teams’ drivers. For Williams, their 5th-place finish is their best result since 2017, and, with 137 points, scored more in 2025 than in their last seven seasons combined.
“I call it like a mini victory. I won my midfield championship. Not quite celebrations of Lando, but maybe I’ll open a pocket championship. I’m very proud of myself to be totally honest. I feel like this year I’ve proved to everyone, most people, that I’m here to stay, and I feel like I’ve delivered in being totally honest. I feel like I’m excited for next year. I’m excited to see what we can do.”
