“You Look Like a Donkey Kong”: Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz Engage in Hilarious Spat Over Lego Williams Car

Tanish Chachra | 05/05/2025
Alexander Albon (Atlassian Williams Racing), Carlos Sainz jr. (Atlassian Williams Racing) im Paddock, Grosser Preis von Miami, Motorsport

F1 hosted one of its most unique parades ever in Miami earlier today, with all 20 drivers taking a lap around the Miami International Autodrome in Lego cars. There were 10 cars, each representing and resembling a team on the grid. The cars were functional, but nowhere near the speeds these athletes are used to. However, there was a catch — only one of the two teammates per car could take control, which led to some disputes.

Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, teammates since 2025, were of course sharing a Williams Lego car.

But before setting off on his lap, Albon appeared impressed upon seeing Sauber’s replica during an interview and eagerly asked, “I am driving this, right?” The presenter moved away from the Lego car and shifted the conversation to discuss Williams’ race prospects.

However, Albon couldn’t let it go. When it was his turn to get into the Williams Lego car, he noticed Sainz taking the drivers’ seat, and shouted at the Spaniard. “Hey, Carlos, I’m driving.”

Sainz, who also wanted to drive, shrugged and asked, “Why?”

“Because I’m the taller driver. Apparently, the taller driver needs to be in the car,” Albon responded.

The Madrid-born driver wasn’t convinced by Albon’s reasoning and replied something inaudible to the broadcast. Not pleased with his teammate not yielding the seat, Albon remarked, “You look like Donkey Kong.”

The situation didn’t end there, as Albon actually cut his interview short to continue arguing with Sainz just as the broadcast shifted to journalist Lawrence Barretto. It’s fair to assume the two carried on their playful squabble over the Lego seat.

Unfortunately for Albon, his efforts to claim the front spot didn’t work out—as he was ultimately seen in the rear seat while Sainz enjoyed the drive during the parade.

One could argue that the two drivers unleashed their inner children after seeing the identical Lego versions of their F1 cars—but they weren’t alone. All the drivers were seen having a blast with their ‘machinery.’

During the parade, there was a fair bit of ‘dirty driving’ as well. Lewis Hamilton even accused Pierre Gasly of it, to which the Alpine driver cheekily responded, “The dirty boys are still on the fence.”

Hamilton also said it was probably the “most fun” he’d ever had during a drivers’ parade even though the shenanigans left quite a bit of debris in their wake.

Building these cars was no small feat. According to Barretto, a team of 26 designers, engineers, and Lego builders spent 22,000 hours constructing them. Each car is made up of nearly 400,000 individual pieces.

F1 truly went to great lengths to make this often-overlooked part of the Grand Prix weekend memorable.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
Alex Albon carlos sainz

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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