Alex and Carlos ready for Monaco

Atlassian Williams F1 Team begin European season at Formula 1's most iconic venue

Published

04 JUN 2026

Est. reading time

2 min

The 2026 Formula 1 season heads to Monte Carlo for Round 6, heralding the start of the European leg of the campaign. Monaco remains one of the sport's most prestigious and demanding events, with the narrow streets, unforgiving barriers and unique challenges making it unlike anywhere else on the calendar.

Carlos Sainz is looking forward to taking on the famous streets of Monte Carlo and discovering how the new generation of cars performs around the Principality.

"Monaco is an iconic track, and it's always incredible to race around these streets. There's nowhere quite like it on the calendar, which will present its own challenges this week as we understand how it interacts with these new regulations. “Overtaking around the barriers is incredibly difficult, so the focus will be on qualifying, but the high chance of safety cars means strategy will play a big part on Sunday. Energy management will be different to any other track we've raced at so far, so it will be interesting to see how everyone tackles this weekend."

Alex Albon is equally excited to return to a circuit that has traditionally suited both him and the team during his time at Grove.

"Monaco is one of those races that is just special - it's the crown jewel of the F1 calendar. Monaco is a pure test of both the driver and the car, and it will be important as a team to have a clean weekend, getting in as many laps as we can, following an unlucky weekend in Montreal where I lost out on a lot of track time. “Qualifying is everything around Monaco, and I'm looking forward to getting my first taste of the new cars around these narrow streets with the high speeds. Monaco is usually pretty good for us as a team, and for me as a driver - so I'm looking forward to getting back on track, and hopefully bringing home some points."