The Williams drivers, Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, expressed their interest in the title fight at the last race of the 2025 F1 season in Abu Dhabi. Lando Norris currently leads the championship by 12 points ahead of Max Verstappen, while his teammate Oscar Piastri is 4 points behind the Dutchman.
Though Sainz and Albon have great respect for Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, they share a common admiration for Lando Norris’ first title fight.
Praising the ex-teammate
The Spanish driver praised the championship leader, Norris, for his speed. He claimed that the Briton is as quick as anyone on the current grid, if not sometimes even quicker.
Having been teammates with the top drivers, such as Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, and Max Verstappen, Sainz emphasized Norris’ talent in pushing the car’s limit, being consistent, and constructing good qualifying laps throughout the season. He believes his ex-teammate Lando Norris has everything on his hands to win this championship.
“I think at the time, obviously what I saw immediately from Lando was an unbelievable skill to drive the car at the limit and put together really good qualifying laps.
“Again, I’ve been team-mates with Charles, with Max, Lando. I’ve been team-mates with all the top guys on the grid by now, and I can tell you Lando has nothing left in his tank in terms of speed.
“I think his speed is as quick as anyone and quicker even than anyone on his good day. I think what he’s developed the most is that consistency through the year, being strong on tracks that maybe he wasn’t that strong in his first couple of years versus me.
“And now when I look at his driving and how strong he is everywhere, he’s developed that skill that comes with more experience, which is to be quick in every circumstance, at every track, and now he’s more of an all-rounder for sure than what he was in the first few years.
“But I don’t think he’s any quicker than those two years. When you arrive in F1, you’re as quick as you can get, and then it’s all about developing the skills of how to be quick in every type of corner or in every type of track.”
Invested in the title fight
Just like everyone’s eyes are on the upcoming title fight at Abu Dhabi, Sainz expressed his interest in the battle for the championship. Though he has a great respect for his close friend’s rivals, Sainz openly admitted his bias for his ex-teammate Norris.
The Spaniard believes that the track at Abu Dhabi suits Norris’ driving style. Referencing Norris’ last year’s win at the same track right in front of him, Sainz confessed that it still hurts him to this day in a funny tone.
Though he notes Norris has an advantage, Sainz acknowledged finishing on the podium is never easy, especially under the circumstances Norris is in now.
“I do have an interest, obviously. I will be following [the title fight] very closely. Also I think everyone knows how well I get on with Lando and obviously I wish Lando the best possible outcome in that sense.
“I also have a lot of respect for Max and Oscar and I wish them the best. But I think Abu Dhabi is a Lando track. I think he’s not lucky but I think it’s good for him that I think the finales in Abu Dhabi, which is from my experience being his teammate here, is one of his best tracks at driving.
“The win he took last year in front of me still hurts, and he dominated last year’s race in front of me. I knew it’s a Lando track and it’s a McLaren track. So, I think he plays with that advantage, still going into the last weekend having to finish on the podium is never easy even if you drive a McLaren.
“I think he [Lando] needs to execute a perfect weekend, and I believe, given how well he’s responded under pressure recently, I think he can do it.”
An impressive strong mentality facing high pressure
Alongside Sainz, his current teammate at Williams, Albon, also admired Norris. He highlighted how the Briton established a strong mentality that learn to cope with the pressure of being in his first title fight.
“It’s been really impressive to see how Lando’s handled this the second half of the year, I think he’s made almost zero mistakes for the most part and seems to be showing his worth.
“I think he’s been dealing with the pressure well, and to my eyes at least, he seems pretty relaxed right now. I don’t see him that tense. He’s a different generation to me. He’s a couple of years younger than I am, so I’ve never seen him in that kind of championship fight in the junior categories, let’s say.
“But yeah, in many ways, I feel like he hasn’t had that happen too many times. Maybe I’m wrong in saying that. But he’s either dominated the championship or he’s not had that fight towards the end. But what better way to do it than your first world championship?”
