Sainz scores again as Albon’s bad luck continues in chaotic Canadian Grand Prix

Williams left the Canadian Grand Prix with mixed emotions after Carlos Sainz delivered another strong recovery drive to finish ninth, while Alex Albon suffered yet more misfortune when he was hit by Oscar Piastri and forced to retire. Team Principal James Vowles praised the team’s progress but acknowledged that Albon had been denied a likely points finish.

Albon’s race ended early when Piastri locked up while battling Ollie Bearman and slid into the side of the Williams, damaging the Thai driver’s sidepod and forcing him to park trackside. It was another blow in what has been a season of disrupted weekends and lost opportunities.

Sainz, meanwhile, kept out of trouble despite also starting on Intermediate tyres. After an early pit stop, he worked his way back through the field with strong pace on the Mediums, securing ninth place — his second consecutive points finish for Williams.

After retiring from the race, Albon reflected on another frustrating Sunday. He said: “It just hasn't been my weekend overall. Bad luck again today - no hard feelings toward Oscar as I think he just misjudged the overtake. Sometimes these things happen and that’s just racing.”

He believed the car had the pace for a strong result: “We had good pace at the start of the race, the car felt more comfortable, and I think we would have been in the fight with the Alpines and on for decent points.”

Albon also highlighted the impact of his disrupted season: “Ultimately, we're just down on track time this season, and I need to get into a rhythm and have a smooth weekend. It will come.”

Looking ahead, he added: “Monaco is usually a good track for us, and for me as a driver, so I'm looking forward to resetting and coming back stronger as a team with the start of the European season.”

Sainz was pleased with his pace but disappointed that the tyre gamble didn’t pay off. He said: “Mixed feelings today. I always enjoy driving in these conditions and feel like I can extract everything from the car.

"I took a risk and made the decision to start on the intermediates as I thought it was worth the gamble starting P15 and the conditions were a bit uncertain. The additional formation laps didn’t help, and unfortunately it clearly didn’t paid off today.”

Once on slicks, however, Sainz came alive: “However, once we switched to mediums, the second stint was super strong, and we were at times the quickest of the midfield. We made a good recovery but it would have been interesting to be in the fight with the three cars ahead.”

He closed with a realistic assessment of Williams’ position: “Anyway, more points for the team so happy on that front. Ultimately, we still need more pace to be fighting in the top eight on a regular basis, but we’re building some good momentum race by race.”

Team Principal James Vowles praised Sainz’s drive and the team’s development progress. He said: “Well done to Carlos, really great couple more points to our name, and what I'm really pleased to see is that across Miami and Montreal, we've added car performance and are able to get into a regular point scoring position.”

He also expressed sympathy for Albon: “We didn't get it all right today, and I feel for Alex because he had the pace and from his position, there would have been points available to him as well.”