Alex Albon has been one of the best-performing drivers of 2025 so far. He’s been solid both in qualifying and the race trim, bringing in 16 points for Williams in the first two rounds. Heading into the Japanese GP on Sunday, he was looking to better his haul further, starting from P9 on the grid, a position he was content with.
“The rhythm was a bit disjointed, but P9, still, we can get some points,” Albon said after qualifying in Suzuka. It was his third consecutive Q3 appearance, signaling real progress for the Grove-based team, and for Albon as a driver.
However, the 29-year-old did not have a great start to the race. He failed to make up positions at the beginning, complicating his job of passing others later on since Suzuka’s layout doesn’t encourage overtaking. On top of that, gear-shift issues with his FW47 further infuriated him.
The Thai-British driver then lost his patience when his race engineer, James Urwin, called him in for a delayed pit stop. While he is normally a calm driver, Albon took to the team radio to lash out, “Honestly, you guys make absolutely no sense.” This did raise a few eyebrows, but fans were fully behind Albon’s unexpected rant.
“Alex! Show your anger, Alex!” a user wrote on X (formerly Twitter), showcasing full support for the heated exchange.
Alexxx Show ur anger Alexxxx✊️ https://t.co/5JC4ELnEDz
— kellies (@paulfication) April 6, 2025
Still, Albon’s frustration, according to some, was unfounded. After all, he didn’t lose out on a lot of time and had more than half of the race ahead of him to make up places, which he eventually did to finish ninth, in the points.
“That radio by Albon is generational. Not a single constructive statement. Bro rang in just to hate,” a fan wrote, amused at how he behaved.
That radio by Albon is generational. Not a single constructive statement. Bro rang in just to hate
— ❄️ The Confessor ❄️ (@shanethecnfsr) April 6, 2025
alex albon when he gets back to the williams headquarters probably pic.twitter.com/6swUQLVUx7
— ◡̈ em ²³ | P7 (@emilyluvsf1) April 6, 2025
On the hard tyres, Albon looked like one of the quickest in the midfield, overtaking several drivers en route to the top 10. His initial frustration likely eased by then, especially since he finished ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz—who was P14 today—for the third race in a row.
Nevertheless, it was a great result for Williams, who, with two more points, have taken their total tally to 19 and are currently P5 in the standings behind Ferrari.
