For everyone watching, F1’s 2025 São Paulo GP was a thrilling spectacle. It was a “crazy race” defined by high-strung tension and tyre degradation. However for Alex Albon and the Williams team, it was a race of profound frustration.
The Thai driver finished an agonising P11, missing out on the final race point by a mere two-tenths of a second. After the race, Albon was blunt in his assessment, placing the blame squarely on a mid-race strategy call. This call unraveled the hard work put in by Albon and his teammate, Carlos Sainz Jr.
“I think for us, a race to forget,” Williams driver Albon stated after the F1 São Paulo GP. “We missed a good chance of points.”
One stint too long
The problem, according to Albon, was not a lack of speed at Brazil. The FW47, which had struggled for pace earlier during the weekend, came alive on Sunday. “We had good pace when we could show it,” he explained.
The team, however, failed to capitalise. The critical error was a decision to stay out too long on the first set of medium tyres. It was a gamble that backfired catastrophically. A switch to two stops was made and a late charge came up short.
“What took us out of contention for points was I think we stayed out too long on the first stint and we never recovered from there,” Albon said. “We lost so much track time… that compromised the rest of our race.”
Despite this setback in the São Paulo race caused by Williams’ strategy, Albon was “fighting… way back up the grid.” The recovery drive was aggressive, and as the race neared its conclusion, the battle for the final point became “dicey,” with Albon admitting “we made contact in my last lap.”
But the initial damage was too significant to overcome, leaving him just shy of P10.
A costly missed opportunity
The single point lost is a major blow in the context of the Constructors’ Championship. With Williams fighting for a crucial P5 in the standings, their direct rivals had a successful day at the São Paulo GP.
“It’s not good for us that our rivals have scored so many points today,” Albon noted.
With the season nearing its end, the pressure is on. Albon is looking for a rebound at the upcoming night race in Las Vegas but remains realistic about the team’s prospects. “I’m hoping a better Vegas,” he said, before adding that the following race in Qatar, “is going to be difficult.”
For Williams, the debrief in Brazil will be a difficult one. As Albon concluded after the São Paulo GP, Williams’ path forward is clear: “We need to regroup and come back stronger.”
