Sainz arrival at Williams is the biggest test for Albon

Herbert went on to predict Sainz's arrival at Williams could trouble Albon whose career has been marked by highs and lows. A standout in karting, he won the CIK-FIA European Championship and CIK-FIA World Cup in 2010. However, he never claimed a title in single-seaters before Red Bull signed him to its programme.

Albon made his F1 debut with Toro Rosso at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix before being promoted to Red Bull after 12 races, replacing Pierre Gasly as Max Verstappen’s teammate.

The Thai driver secured his maiden F1 podium at the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix, becoming the first Thai driver to achieve such a feat. He repeated the result in Bahrain but ultimately failed to match Verstappen’s performance and was replaced by Sergio Pérez for the 2021 season.

Albon continued as Red Bull’s reserve driver while competing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) before making his return to a full-time F1 seat with Williams in 2022, replacing George Russell.

Since joining Williams, Albon has firmly established himself as the team’s lead driver, outpacing both Nicholas Latifi and Logan Sargeant with relative ease.

However, when Franco Colapinto replaced the struggling American for the final nine races of 2024, Albon faced a sterner challenge. While he led the qualifying battle 8-1, their head-to-head race results ended in a 4-4 tie, with the Argentinian rookie applying unexpected pressure.

With Sainz now set to join Williams, Albon will face a proven race winner, and Herbert believes this season could shape his career trajectory.

Herbert sees 2025 as a defining moment for Albon’s career, as he explained: “This season is a big test for Alex Albon. This is really where, for almost the second time, this is probably the real proper test of where if he doesn't go quite right, it's going to make his career that little bit more difficult.

"Especially if somebody like Carlos Sainz comes in, I expect him to be on it straightaway. I know he had his problems initially when he went to Ferrari and it took Sainz a long time before he got his head around how the Ferrari worked. But then once he got his head around it, we saw how strong he was," he added.

Sainz made his first appearance for Williams during the 2024 Abu Dhabi post-season test and quickly adapted to the FW46. Herbert believes this is a sign of things to come.

“When he got into Williams in Abu Dhabi, he seemed to be very sort of at home straightaway. Very quick," he pointed out.

Looking ahead, Herbert expects Sainz to bring confidence and leadership to the team; he continued: “As we expect at the moment, Sainz is full of confidence and he's going to be able to use that to the best of his abilities.

"It's a great opportunity for Williams to have someone like him on board. Hopefully, they're going to be developing that a little bit more.”

However, the arrival of a driver of Sainz’s caliber also presents a major psychological challenge, he claimed: “Albon, I know, has come out and said it's an important time for Williams to step up and get themselves in a much stronger position, constructors and drivers, but he's going to be in that massive mental battle against Sainz.”

Herbert believes that while Albon has rebuilt his reputation at Williams, the arrival of Sainz will provide a clear benchmark.

He said: “Albon has been able to rebuild his career at Williams and has a great reputation, but now he's up against a guy that has been really shining brightly of recent times. It's going to be a test for him.”

Ultimately, the former F1 grand steward thinks the intra-team battle could push both drivers to new heights; he reckoned: “It's going to be a good thing for Sainz because obviously if he is, and they are both close together, it could push each driver to be better than last year.”

With Sainz joining Williams after a strong final season with Ferrari, 2025 will reveal whether Albon can assert himself against a proven race winner or whether, as Herbert suggests, he will struggle to withstand the pressure once again.