Albon hails 'totally different' Williams after qualifying sixth in Australia

Alex Albon said his Williams felt like a "totally different car to last year" after finishing sixth in the qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday.

While attention was on Carlos Sainz in the season opener, it was Albon who outperformed his new team-mate in the qualifying to start on the third row in Sunday's race.

Albon will start behind McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, reigning world champion Max Verstappen, George Russell and Yuki Tsunoda at the Albert Park Circuit.

Former Ferrari driver Sainz also made it to the Q3 and took P10 on his debut race weekend for Williams.

"We were experimenting with all kinds of different things and, honestly, even to be able to say that we can experiment, knowing that we had a bit of pace to try different things is something quite new to me, to be honest," Albon said after qualifying.

"Great to be in front of the Ferraris as well, I think Yuki did a very impressive lap as well. But [it’s] great for us, I think after a long winter and looking where we were last year to this year, it’s a huge uplift.”

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton qualified seventh and eighth followed by Pierre Gasly in Alpine.

Albono standing on business in Qualifying today pic.twitter.com/Uawe3i9WDC
— Atlassian Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) March 15, 2025

Albon finished 16th in the drivers' standings last season, while Williams were only second-from-bottom among constructors, with just 17 points.

"This track has got so much grip and the corners are so flowing. It’s a nice one, the first race of the year – your neck starts to feel it straight away," Albon said.

"But, regardless, it feels firstly like a totally different car to last year but, also, just a lot of fun.”

Meanwhile, Sainz termed Saturday's qualifying as a very good day for his new team.

“I think it’s the maximum we could have hoped for. Obviously, I would have liked to be a bit more competitive in Q3, but the reality is that I was very lost with where to find the lap time with the car, with the soft tyres," the Spaniard said.