Albon: Williams must take advantage of the presence of rookies
Alex Albon explained that Atlassian Williams Racing must take advantage of the start of the 2025 season to get ahead in the standings: indeed, no fewer than six rookies will debut in F1 this year. It's an opportunity to use their adaptation time to score points.
Alex Albon recently spoke to several media outlets during a press conference. According to him, Atlassian Williams Racing must start the season at full throttle, as that is when the team will have the best chance to score points.
Take advantage of the adjustment period for rookies
The 2025 Formula 1 grid will feature no fewer than three drivers who have never competed in an F1 Grand Prix: Gabriel Bortoleto, Kimi Antonelli, and Isack Hadjar. While Alexander Albon obviously does not doubt the talent of these drivers, it still seems completely normal that they will need some adaptation time before they can be perfectly at ease in an F1 Grand Prix. This adaptation period should allow Williams to more easily score points at the start of the season, while the newcomers are still beginners.
It is also noteworthy that in addition to the three drivers who have never competed in F1, three others have not yet participated in a full F1 season: Oliver Bearman, Jack Doohan, and Liam Lawson, with three, one, and eleven F1 starts respectively. This is the first time since 2010 that six drivers are starting their F1 careers at the same time. Needless to say, this event must be taken into account when setting up the teams’ overall strategy.
But be wary of some of them
Attention, however, Albon doesn’t lump all rookies together. For him, some will be very competitive right from the first races. He for example cites Bearman and Antonelli and elaborates: « There are only a few drivers I would consider as true beginners, and I think Kimi is going to hit the ground running with all the miles he has covered. »
The Mercedes training program, from which Antonelli benefited, seems to be bearing fruit. Although it’s his first year in F1, Kimi is already impressing much more experienced drivers.
Last year, Williams had started the season with a very strong car but too heavy, preventing them from climbing up the rankings. Atlassian Williams Racing will therefore have to give their all from the start of the season, taking advantage of the rookies’ adaptation time to score points more easily. This could allow them to gain a necessary lead to offset race incidents.
