Alexander Albon has questioned whether his Williams car and Carlos Sainz’s have delivered equal performance during the 2026 Formula 1 season. The Thai driver says the team has been dealing with differences since the start of the year, while noting that the gap has narrowed recently.
“ Saying both cars perform the same wouldn’t be true. I don’t believe the two cars are equal,” Albon said in a recent interview. He added that the issue was not limited to him and had been present since early in the season.
Williams is third from last in the constructors’ standings, with 12 points after 19 races. Sainz has scored seven points to Albon’s five, and leads their qualifying head-to-head 13-6.
Albon said the pair had been “very close in performance” over the last four or five race weekends, but that it had taken the team time to reach that point. His comments suggest he believes Sainz had the stronger Williams during the first part of the season.
Last season, Albon finished ahead of Sainz in the drivers’ standings, scoring 73 points to the Spaniard’s 64. Sainz later adapted to the car and secured two podiums, as well as a Sprint podium.
Sources: Motorpasión.