REPORT: Back on the Podium in Baku

A first podium trip since 2021 was the reward for Atlassian Williams Racing after securing P3 in the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz brought home his first rostrum in Williams overalls after a faultless drive from a P2 start that had him showing strong pace throughout.

The result marks our first full-race podium in eight years, after we grabbed another P3 at the same circuit in the 2017 Azerbaijan GP.

Alex Albon crossed the line in P11 after an impressive drive from the back row, but was demoted to P13 after picking up a penalty for an early-race collision.

Starting the race on used Mediums, Carlos lined up alongside the Hard-equipped Max Verstappen for the short run to Turn 1.

Alex followed suit, albeit on fresh Medium Pirellis, from the back row, gaining a place from P20 to P19 after Esteban Ocon was disqualified from Qualifying.

Both our drivers kept it calm on the opening lap with low grip levels off the racing line before an early Safety Car appeared after Oscar Piastri hit the barriers at Turn 5.

The neutralised race allowed Alex to stop for another tyre set, getting a pit stop out of the way and with the option to run his new Mediums to the flag.

A Lap 5 restart had Verstappen quickly break DRS, but Carlos wasn't left alone, with our Spaniard keeping clear of the chasing Liam Lawson behind.

With the race settling down after the restart, Alex found himself stuck in a DRS train stretching from Franco Colapinto in P13 down to his P18 placement.

A pass on Pierre Gasly advanced him to P17, but the team went for an early undercut, stopping at the end of Lap 15 for Hards.

The pit stop strategy worked well, and Alex used the clean air to push hard and close in on those ahead, ending up on the tail of Colapinto, who stopped one lap later from five places in front.

Alex tried to pass the Argentinian into Turn 5, but tagged the rear left of the Alpine to send him into a spin and damaging the FW47's front wing.

A 10-second penalty came Alex's way. With no further stops expected, that meant 10 seconds would be added to his final race time.

Carlos continued extending his stint on the Mediums out front as others started to pit, with Lawson and Andrea Kimi Antonelli battling between each other during the stops to allow George Russell a clear track.

Russell proved Carlos' fight, although not in any wheel-to-wheel battling. The Mercedes driver was five seconds behind and gradually closing before Carlos stopped on Lap 27 for Hards.

He returned to the track with the yet-to-stop Isack Hadjar as a buffer between Antonelli, who had passed Lawson, further back.

Alex used his remaining Sunday laps to speed past the congested midfield. Fernando Alonso was the first to fall to Albono's Hards, and he used the Turn 1 braking zone to again pass Gasly, before repeating the move on Ollie Bearman, Nico Hulkenberg, and Gabriel Bortoleto in the remaining laps.

For Carlos, he kept consistent pace to push Russell, but the Mercedes driver managed to emerge ahead by just 1.3s by the time he pitted on Lap 40.

Nonetheless, a smooth drive kept Antonelli at bay, and Carlos crossed the line in P3.

"VAMOS! VAMOS!" were the delighted cries over the radio from the Spaniard.

"Best podium in my career guys! You cannot imagine how this tastes. Thank you so much."

James Vowles responded: "Carlos, I've had the pleasure of having many podiums. I assure you, this was a star one for me. Well done.

"Vamos! Absolutely incredible. Come on! Let's go! Come on! VAMOS!"

"This is the beginning of something nice, guys," replied Carlos.

"Thank you so much. Ah! I knew this was coming. I told you a few races ago. I knew it! I knew it!

"You just need to believe. Thank you!"

Speaking after his podium celebrations, Carlos had this to say:

"Finishing P3 today in Baku and being on the podium is an amazing feeling! I think it’s one of my best races ever!

"We’ve been working so hard and gone through some really big ups and downs, but this makes it all worth it and we need to feel proud as a team.

"I’m sure this is just a taste of what’s to come for us at Williams and we need to keep working in this direction.

"Today we had the pace, and we delivered when it mattered, not making any mistakes and scoring a magnificent podium on pure merit.

"Thank you to the entire team, here and back at home, for your relentless effort and support!

"And also, to all our Williams fans out there! I can’t wait for more to come! Vamos!"

Alex shared his congratulations also. Our Thai driver said, "First of all, today was a great result for the team and for Carlos, it has been a long time coming.

"Carlos executed a really clean weekend, and the car was quick and so it was great to see that result.

"Unfortunately for me, I think yesterday’s Qualifying put us on the back foot for the Race.

"I expected us to be fast today, and we were quick on track when we were able to be in clean air, but the degradation was quite low today so that limited our progress when we were in the DRS train and it got a bit scrappy at times.

"It’s a very different track in Singapore so we will analyse everything from this weekend and hope to score good points the next time out."

James was comprehensive in his thanks for the team:

"The result is fantastic. I’ve been fortunate to have a few podiums in my career, but this is one I’ll remember forever.

"We earned this together as a team - a team that, in recent years, has been at the back, fighting just to survive, and now has battled its way back into this position.

"Carlos delivered a phenomenal race — an exceptional drive from start to finish, and a joy to watch.

"You could see and hear just how much it meant to him. I believe in positive momentum, and this gives Carlos a real foundation to build on.

"With Alex, sometimes you just have those days. He absolutely had the pace — we’ve seen it all weekend — but after that early incident in Qualifying, it was always going to be difficult.

"Still, he fought back and finished close to the points. For now, I can’t wait to get back to the factory on Monday with the trophy and feel the roof come off the place.

"This result is a reward for the incredible dedication of the entire workforce, who give so much of their lives to this team."