Torquing Points: How Ted Lasso helped Carlos Sainz beat jetlag

From Ted Lasso inspiration to early-morning breakfast hunts, Alex and Carlos had plenty to unpack on the latest episode of Team Torque

Published

10 MAR 2026

Est. reading time

3 min

The second episode of Team Torque Season 3 dropped ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, and there was plenty for Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz to unpack.

Filmed inside Atlassian HQ in Sydney – the same spot where the duo hosted their very first episode together a year ago – the pair kicked things off by reflecting on being back in Australia for the start of a new season.

“We’re in Australia for the first race of the season,” Alex started, before Carlos quickly chimed in with a cheeky retort: “As you can tell by Alex’s jetlag.”

It’s safe to say neither driver was feeling particularly fresh off the plane. Alex admitted he’d managed only three hours of sleep, while Carlos had squeezed in five.

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BELIEVE

With travel time comes screen time, and Carlos revealed he’d recently started watching Ted Lasso.

“You know… I’ve been watching Ted Lasso,” he said, only for Alex to reveal he’d finished the series three weeks earlier.

“Man, this guy! He’s my new idol,” Carlos added.

There’s a lot to love about the endlessly optimistic football coach, and it seems the Atlassian Williams F1 Team duo are hoping to take a little inspiration from him this season.

“I feel like we need to channel our inner Ted Lasso this year,” Alex suggested.

“Yeah, especially you!” Carlos replied.

Carlos then breaks down just how quickly he has powered through the show. He started the first season during the long-haul flight to Australia – “I couldn’t stop laughing for a good 10 hours.”

Alex Albon

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Waiting for breakfast

Jetlag can do funny things to your body clock, and that's something Carlos and his partner Rebecca Donaldson discovered the hard way after arriving in Sydney.

Imagine being in a quiet hotel lobby in the early hours of the morning, and there’s a four-time Formula 1 race winner standing there counting down the minutes until 06:30.

When opening time finally arrived, Carlos made up for lost time. He blamed the jetlag for causing a sudden craving for food, but anyone who’s experienced an Australian breakfast spread knows they’re hard to resist.

Carlos Sainz

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Job swap

One fan question asked the duo what role they’d choose within the team if they weren’t racing drivers.

Carlos suggested becoming either a strategist or a race engineer, a suggestion that won’t surprise many.

After all, this is the same Carlos who famously helped from the pit wall after his early exit at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix. And who could forget his perfectly controlled victory at the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix?

Alex pointed out that former drivers would likely have a strong instinct for what the person in the cockpit actually needs.

“I’m surprised there are not more drivers turned race engineers,” he commented.

Carlos then took the idea one step further, suggesting they could create a school specifically for training former drivers to move into those roles.

Within seconds, the business plan was taking shape. Carbono coming to a pit wall near you soon?

Plenty of laughs on the Team Torque set in Sydnet

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Another fan question came from a relatively new F1 follower looking for recommendations on classic races to watch.

Carlos was quick with his answer: “Any races I’ve won, they were great.”

Alex, meanwhile, went with a legendary pick: the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix.

“Canada 2011,” he suggested. It was the longest race in Formula 1 history, where former Williams driver Jenson Button fought back from two collisions, six pit stops and a drive-through penalty to dramatically take P1 on the final lap.

Carlos couldn’t resist one more suggestion of his own.

“Singapore 2023… that was a golden era of Formula 1,” he joked.

We won’t spoil the rest of the episode, including the special guest for the Atlassian Teamwork Questions. Catch the full second episode below and hear Alex and Carlos break it all down themselves.

Catch up with Team Torque:

Ep.2 - Cartoon Characters, Ted Lasso & Vegemite vs Marmite

Team Torque, presented by Atlassian, has touched down in Australia! Catch up with Carbono in the latest episode...

Ep.1 - Rapper names, 2026 regs & weird traits