Alex Albon steals hearts with Carlos Sainz podium support: 'Frank Williams would've been proud'

F1 fans praised Williams’ Vowles-led sportsmanship as Alex Albon celebrated Carlos Sainz’s Baku podium despite his own tough race

It was a beautiful moment for the Williams team as team principal James Vowles watched Carlos Sainz celebrate his first podium for the Grove outfit with a tear in his eye. Behind him stood Alex Albon, a driver who had suffered through a disappointing Azerbaijan Grand Prix after not only starting at the back but also receiving a 10-second penalty for hitting Franco Colapinto. Despite this, he beamed as his team-mate soaked in his success.

Unsurprisingly, it quickly became a talking point for fans, who highlighted not only Albon’s gesture but a wider culture of sportsmanship they see running through the team under Vowles’s leadership.

In response to a post on X by Autosport, several commenters framed this in a way that's emblematic of how Williams is being built by the former Mercedes strategist.

“I am genuinely happy for the team! James is a lovely person, Carlos and Alex are really nice guys. Sir Frank would've been proud!” wrote one. A second added: “He is one of the best principals! He's so happy."

“That is the MOST adorable thing. Alex is the ultimate sportsman for this,” posted another as a fourth added: “There is no ME in TEAM”. Others pointed to the strength of the pairing itself. “Love to see the respect they have for each other and the team. Perfect duo and exactly what Williams needed."

The reaction was even picked up by sponsors of the team, with Gulf Oil International posting: “We're not crying you are."

Carlos Sainz, Williams

Photo by: Clive Rose / Getty Images

Sainz was asked about the team's emotional reaction to his success this weekend as the Spaniard confirmed his continued belief in his team.

"Yes, we've had a very tough year. In the end, I honestly believe that, of all the drivers who have changed teams, I've been the one who has adapted best to the car and been fastest since the start of the season.

"But for some reason that I still don't quite understand, I've had a run of 12-14 races where something different happened to us every day, something happened to us every day, and it's been very hard for my engineers too, for me mentally, in the sense that we didn't know why, if we were fast and everything was going well, why things weren't working out.

"But in the end, this sport is all about streaks, that's life, and if all that happened to us, it was for a reason, because this podium was coming, which was the first podium, and in the end, I prefer to have had those 14 bad races and get the first podium for Williams, and that shows you that you always have to keep believing, working, and that everything will come."