Torquing Points: Summer stories, astronomy, and school days
Behind the scenes of the eclipse and school stories on the latest episode of Team Torque
Published
28 AUG 2026
Est. reading time
4 min
There’s plenty to talk about in the latest episode of Team Torque, as Alex Albon, Carlos Sainz and James Vowles sit down for another conversation covering some big Williams news, their summer break adventures and a glimpse into what life was like before Formula 1.
The episode gets underway with James addressing the biggest news of the week, with both Alex and Carlos committing their futures to Williams.
“Real big news this week, thank you to the both of you. It’ll be an absolute honour to have you by my side and a part of Williams for next year and hopefully many, many years beyond,” James says.
With the future sorted, attention quickly turns to the pair's return to the paddock, and Carlos has a few questions of his own about Alex's arrival in Hungary.
“Did you see the welcome I gave Alex to the track today?” Carlos asks, before revealing that he’s already planning to share the moment on Instagram. When Alex had arrived, he was greeted by a stream of water coming from the above, which was poured by Carlos, as he entered the motorhome.
After asking for the photo to be shown, Alex has a simple reaction: “Honestly, thank God I wear a backwards cap.”
Alex’s unexpected summer break guests
The conversation then moves away from the paddock and towards summer holidays, with Alex revealing that his break included a quick trip to South Africa before heading to Sardinia.
“We did a very quick pitstop to South Africa, got to see the country,” Alex explains. After returning home, he headed to Sardinia for just four or five days before admitting he was “too busy” to stay any longer.
It turns out James was in Sardinia too, although the pair somehow managed not to cross paths.
“Here’s the interesting thing, you know this, I was also in Sardinia but we didn’t quite overlap,” James reveals.
Alex then hints that he may have picked the wrong part of the island, suggesting there’s a particular hotspot where plenty of travellers tend to gather which wasn’t as quiet or relaxing as where James was.
While learning to eFoil, he spotted someone flying across the water at impressive speed.
“I’m going around and I see this guy coming past and he’s sitting on the edge almost like his legs are off the front, and he’s going flat out,” James recalls. “He looks like a Buddha, just complete peace going through, and I’m like, who is this guy?”
It turned out to be Max Verstappen, although Alex didn't realise it at first.
After Sardinia, Alex headed to the Dolomites for a week before finishing his break with some training back in Monaco.
Shooting stars and eclipses
The holiday chat takes another turn when James asks whether Alex and Carlos had seen the recent eclipse.
“I did” Carlos confirms, while Alex simply shakes his head.
That lead into a conversation about shooting stars, with Carlos revealing that Mallorca had been full of them during his time there.
“In Mallorca these last two weeks, it’s incredible, just full of shooting stars,” Carlos says.
Alex, however, isn't convinced that the rest of them are living in the same world.
“I don’t know what kind of Disneyland world you guys live in. I have never… I don’t think I’ve seen a shooting star” he laughs.
What were they like at school?
The trio then go back even further, discussing what Alex and Carlos were like before karting and Formula 1 took over their lives.
Alex describes himself as a good student, although karting meant he would sometimes miss school. Rather than having one close knit group of friends, he says he tended to mix with everyone, while also admitting he liked science and considered himself to be on the smarter side.
Carlos' school experience was a little different, with his karting commitments sometimes taking him away from the classroom. He recalls having to leave a practice session for his GCSEs.
“I didn’t consider myself smart, or no one considered me smart at the time,” Carlos says. “I was just like this really average student. If I put a bit of effort in, I would get like a B and be happy with it.”
But there was one big motivation behind making sure he did enough, his parents.
Carlos admits that if he didn't put in any effort, he would fail, but with his sights already firmly set on becoming a racing driver, he mainly wanted to make sure he made his parents proud.
From major career decisions to holiday encounters, Episode 8 offered another chance to see their personalities and proves there’s plenty more to Alex, Carlos and James than what happens on a Grand Prix weekend.
Earn Exclusive Rewards
Get access to exclusive events, digital experiences, unlock collectables and get closer to the team and drivers!
Learn More
Latest
Trending
© 2026 The Williams Group, under licence to Williams IP Holdings LLC
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Services LLP, a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with company registration number OC456938 and whose registered address is at Station Road, Grove, Wantage, Oxfordshire, OX12 0DQ.
Powered By