A Fastest Lap 11 years in the making

While the São Paulo Grand Prix may not have delivered the points we were hoping for, it still gave us one bright spot to take home – and one that ended over a decade of waiting.

On Lap 59 around Interlagos, Alex Albon delivered a 1:12.400 on medium tyres, securing the fastest lap of the 2025 São Paulo GP. It was a lap that had everything: pace, precision, and even a pair of moves – one on Franco Colapinto mid-lap, before lining up a pass on Fernando Alonso shortly after the timing beam.

That blistering effort not only marked Alex’s first-ever fastest lap in Formula 1, but also Atlassian Williams Racing’s 134th in team history – our first since Valtteri Bottas at the 2014 Russian Grand Prix in Sochi.

Fastest laps might not come with silverware, but they do come with a sprinkling of pride – and in this case, a good dose of nostalgia.

Alex’s rapid tour puts him among an elite club – just 20 Williams drivers who’ve ever recorded a fastest lap in Formula 1.

Interlagos has been a happy hunting ground for Williams over the years.

Alex’s lap marks the eighth time we’ve set the fastest lap at the São Paulo circuit – the last time coming back in 2004.

That afternoon, it was Juan Pablo Montoya in his FW26, taking victory in the season finale before the ever-passionate Brazilian crowd.

When you include our fastest laps from Jacarepaguá, where F1 raced in 1978 and from 1981–1989, Brazil now becomes the nation with the most Williams fastest laps, totalling 11 – one more than Britain’s tally.