“Less snappy, more predictable” car helps Williams to best F1 start in nine years

Alex Albon detailed several key improvements that Williams made to its 2025 car that allowed the British squad to make its best start to a Formula 1 season in nearly a decade.

After five races Albon and his new team-mate Carlos Sainz have scored 25 points between them, which is eight more than the Grove-based team collected over the entire 2024 campaign and marks its best season start since 2016.

Some of Williams’ short-term improvements have been deliberate, improving key processes to avoid a repeat of 2024’s car being delivered late and overweight, while others have been a by-product of wholesale changes commissioned by team boss James Vowles to meet long-term goals.

But what is crucial for Williams in a tight midfield battle is improving the FW47’s consistency, after coming from a lineage of cars that were very peaky and sensitive to wind. This allowed the 2025 car to compete on different types of circuits, while also making it easier to drive.

“I think that the biggest thing for me is more just that the car is easier to be on the limit,” Albon explained as his team heads into the Miami Grand Prix weekend in fifth place.

“It’s less snappy, more predictable, less sensitive to wind changes and in general that makes you able to deliver better laps more consistently.

“I still make the odd mistake here and there, it happens. But I feel like I can do a better job more consistently because the car is just a bit more driveable.”

Alex Albon, Williams

Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images

Albon said he is slightly surprised by the extent of Williams’ step in competitiveness, because the car is outperforming what the squad’s development tools had predicted. “I was always really confident that we were going to make progress as a team,” he added.

“I saw the areas and the philosophy of the car changing, and the ideas we were focusing on for this year. We drove it on the simulator, and it was definitely better, but I think we found more pace in the car than what the simulator told us it would be. That’s quite a rare and very positive thing to have.”

But Albon reiterated that with the team all but turning off the tap for its 2025 development, it must capitalise on its form now before midfield rivals bring upgrades.

“Yeah, I feel like there’s a really big emphasis on us to score points right now,” the Thai driver said. “You don’t know when the next upgrade is going to come on a rival team. We might not always be the fifth quickest car but we are consistently there to score points.

“If this was a different year, I would just tell you we’re not going to take our foot off the pedal and we’re going to keep focusing on upgrading the car, and that’s not actually the case this year.”

Photos from Miami GP – Thursday