After a multi-team pursuit for Carlos Sainz’s signature in 2024, the Spaniard picked Williams — a move that raised quite a few eyebrows in the F1 paddock. James Vowles couldn’t believe he had just signed a four-time Grand Prix winner to pair with Alex Albon, already an established star at the team.
The pairing of Albon and Sainz was crafted by Vowles with the future in mind. Williams, under the British boss, wants to climb back to the top. They want to win races and fight for championships. By securing two top-tier drivers, they’ve laid the groundwork to do just that.
The Williams duo has also had a strong start to the year. While Sainz began slowly, scoring just once in the opening four races, he has since picked up six points in the last two. Albon, meanwhile, has 30 points and sits P8 in the Drivers’ Championship, with their combined efforts placing Williams fifth in the Constructors’ standings.
wow sainz was instrumental today, albon doesn’t even get top 10 without him for sure pic.twitter.com/aAnk7czZbR
— (@fawteefaw) May 3, 2025
It’s happy days once again for the Grove-based squad — prompting former F1 driver turned pundit Martin Brundle to label Albon and Sainz as the third-best pairing on the grid. “They’re moving towards the front of the grid, and it’s really impressive,” he said in a Sky Sports segment.
However, fellow presenter Ted Kravitz wasn’t going to let Brundle get away with simply naming the Williams duo as the third-best driver pairing. He wanted to confirm who Brundle’s top two picks were.
Kravitz asked Brundle to confirm if he ranked McLaren—with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri—as the best pairing, and Ferrari—with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc—as the second-best. Brundle said yes, then asked Kravitz about his thoughts.
Kravitz, however, wasn’t looking to debate. “I just wanted to be clear,” he said.
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Mighty pace from Williams!
Albon gets past Antonelli, then Sainz passes Leclerc pic.twitter.com/FS7Mx2TxZc
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 4, 2025
Few would argue with Brundle’s picks for the top three driver pairings. Apart from Albon, all the others have multiple race wins — with Hamilton, of course, being the standout as a seven-time World Champion.
Though Albon has secured just two podiums in his five years in F1, he has shown glimpses of the ability to fight at the front, provided he has the right car.
As for McLaren, they certainly appear to have the strongest driver lineup. Piastri and Norris have won five of the opening six races this season and currently sit first and second in the Drivers’ Championship, respectively.
