Williams Racing found itself dealing with internal tensions during the 2025 F1 Miami GP. Carlos Sainz voiced frustration over a misunderstood team strategy that allowed teammate Alex Albon to pass him mid-race.
The drama peaked on lap 14 when Albon overtook Sainz for sixth place—just moments after Sainz was reportedly told positions would be held.
“The team told us that we were going to freeze positions, then… I don’t know if he got the message or not but basically he overtook me back,” Sainz said after the race.
Mid-Race radio confusion
Sainz had been calling for clarity on strategy for several laps. With Albon closing in behind him, he told his engineer: “Let’s go forward guys, we’re compromising the race here, let’s get into a rhythm.” He added: “I could do with a bit of help from Alex.”
Soon after, he was told Albon had “got the call”—only to be overtaken seconds later. “You told me he’s been told [to stay behind],” he protested over team radio, clearly caught off guard.
In the aftermath, Sainz explained the sting of the moment. “If I’m told on the radio that I’m not going to be attacked and we’re going to push together, to be overtaken as a driver you feel stupid, because you feel powerless… and you look completely stupid. But it’s the way it goes. We’ll talk about it, I’m sure we’ll come out of it better as a team.”
Carlos Sainz expanded on his frustrations to DAZN.
“In the fight with Alex — which obviously will need to be reviewed because the team told me he wasn’t going to attack me, and he [Albon] didn’t hesitate to pass.
“Obviously, we haven’t been perfect this weekend — myself included, with the two mistakes in qualifying and the sprint. But also the team, with the SQ2 mistake and fitting me with the tire I was supposed to use today, which they put on yesterday in wet conditions.”
“It was an operational error that cannot happen if we want to fight for wins and championships. We have to learn as a team to make sure this doesn’t happen again. That said, if it had to happen, let it be in a year where we’re fighting for fifths and eighths.”
Albon’s side: A timing Issue, not defiance
According to Alex Albon, the situation was less about ignoring Williams orders and more about timing. He explained that just as he was told to maintain a gap due to a water pressure issue, he was already making a move with DRS.
“It was most probably in the exact moment of that message was when I overtook him,” Albon said. “I think if we stayed together a little bit longer, then I would’ve been told [to stay back]—but for that time we were still free to race.”
After alerting his engineer that he was about to overtake, he was given the green light: “OK, crack on then.”
Collision adds to the tension
Before the team order confusion at the F1 Miami GP, the Williams duo had already had a close call. At Turn 3, a slow re-entry from Lando Norris forced Sainz to brake and swerve hard—leading to light contact between his front left and Albon’s rear right.
Sainz believed the contact caused lingering damage and pointed to an “operational mistake” that forced him to start the race on used tyres after they used a new set in the Sprint.
Albon admitted the incident briefly threw him off.
“It was upsetting my focus a little bit,” he said. But once in clean air, his pace improved, and he ultimately overtook Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli to finish fifth. Sainz dropped to ninth after late pressure from the Ferraris.
A strong result, but a fragile balance
Despite the internal tension, Williams scored valuable points. Alex Albon emphasized the speed shown on his side of the garage: “We had really strong pace… We proved that we were strong.”
But the situation highlights the challenge ahead for Williams: managing two highly skilled, competitive drivers while chasing consistency in the ultra-close midfield.
“We’ll move on,” Carlos Sainz concluded. The key now is ensuring the team moves forward—together.
