Williams vs Racing Bulls: how Albon can secure P5

For Alexander Albon and Williams, the final stretch of 2025 is all about one goal: holding on to fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship. The gap to Racing Bulls is narrow, and every point across the next four weekends matters. With a Sprint in Brazil, a cool Las Vegas

night race and a high-degradation finale in Abu Dhabi, Williams must combine consistency, precision and strategy to stay ahead.

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Where the battle will be decided

The margin between the two teams is razor thin, usually no more than one good Sunday result. Williams tends to perform better on low-degradation tracks, while Racing Bulls excels on shorter layouts with strong traction zones. Interlagos, with its elevation changes and mixed corner types, sits right in the middle.

Albon sees that neutrality as an opportunity. “We know our strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “If we stay smart with strategy and qualifying, we can keep control of the fight.”

Sprint weekends play a crucial role. Even a sixth place in the Sprint could be decisive if Racing Bulls fails to score. Williams is prioritising stable, predictable setups over one-lap pace to bank points safely.

The power of consistency

Albon’s greatest strength this year has been his ability to extract the maximum from limited machinery. His average qualifying position is often two or three places higher than the car’s expected pace. Engineers at Grove call it “controlled aggression”: never reckless, but always precise enough to capitalise on chaos.

That calm approach could pay off at Interlagos, where the Safety Car appears more often than not. “It is not about one magic lap,” Albon said. “It is about 71 solid laps with no mistakes.”

Williams has also improved Albon’s starts, one of his main weaknesses last season. Reaction-time data shows he is now around 0.04 seconds quicker off the line than in 2024. Over a short Sprint race, that can easily mean one or two positions gained, which could decide fifth place overall.

Learning from Verstappen

In preparation for a potentially wet Sprint, Albon has been studying Max Verstappen’s rain lines through Interlagos’ middle sector. He spent hours in the simulator analysing how Verstappen distributes grip and throttle through damp corners.

“Max reads the water better than anyone,” Albon admitted. “Watching his inputs helped me understand how to spread the load across the tyres. It might give me a small edge if conditions change.”

With rain likely on Saturday, Williams hopes that attention to detail will pay off.

The closing stretch

After Brazil, the battle continues on three very different tracks: the cold of Las Vegas, the heat of Qatar and the smooth surface of Yas Marina. Williams plans circuit-specific setups for each, focusing on tyre wear, pit-stop deltas and start positions.

According to internal projections, Albon needs an average of seven points per weekend to hold P5. Logan Sargeant’s target is to score at least once, adding a small but valuable buffer.

Williams may not have the flashiest car, but precision and discipline have carried them this far. If Albon keeps delivering clean weekends, the team could achieve something rare in modern Formula 1: beating a better-funded rival through execution alone.