Williams has often made the most of its opportunities in 2025 — but the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix proved to be an exception.
A weekend that showed strong potential ultimately unravelled, leaving the team to reflect on what might have been.
Both Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz showed promise during Friday practice in Montreal, but the weekend quickly unravelled heading into qualifying.
Sainz was eliminated in Q1 after being held up by the Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar on his flying lap, while Albon wrestled his FW47 into Q3 despite a large piece of engine cover detaching from the car mid-session.
However, Albon’s race was short-lived, a power unit issue forced an early retirement, as Sainz salvaged a point with a recovery drive from 16th to 10th.
After the race, Albon was left ruing what he felt could have been a strong result.
But beyond the technical failure, he pointed to deeper issues that held Williams back all weekend — from tyre management to overall car understanding.
“I think we missed an opportunity this weekend,” Albon told media including Motorsport Week.
“We need to get on top of the tyres and, also, we need to understand the car.
“The car was really strong in the race. Honestly, easy top 10. It’s frustrating to miss out.”
Sainz faced his own battle with a cooling issue that forced him to brake frequently, preventing him from pushing at full pace throughout the race.
He admitted this cost him “two or three tenths” per lap over the 70 laps.
Despite recovering from 16th on the grid to score a point, Sainz remained unsatisfied.
“If you had told me yesterday, after starting 16t,h that we would get a point, I would be quite proud and happy,” he said. “But the reality is that I’m not.”
Handling struggles and strategic missteps hinder Williams’ weekend
The ex-Ferrari racing driver also acknowledged ongoing issues with the car’s handling early in the weekend, which put him on the back foot during both qualifying and the race.
“It’s not the first time recently that we haven’t managed to get everything under control on Friday,” he continued.
“We need to improve because it’s been several races in a row now where Sundays have been more challenging than they should be.”
Albon also pointed to the team’s strategy as a factor that would have limited his points chances, regardless of the engine troubles.
He explained that on a one-stop strategy, switching from Hard to Medium tyres rather than the other way around was better suited to the hot conditions in Montreal.
“I knew I couldn’t really hold on to the tyre as long as they wanted me to,” Albon expanded.
“I was quite forceful in trying to make sure that we got into the pits before. Because obviously you’re losing positions.
“And I was losing three or four seconds a lap and getting swamped by the Hard[-tyre] cars.
“We were kind of, at that point, in the middle spot where we’ve gone too long.”
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