After a nail-biting Qualifying that saw Carlos secure a front row start, he converted P2 on the grid into a superb P3 finish – ending Atlassian Williams Racing’s four-year wait for a Formula 1 podium.

Alex also delivered a fighting drive, climbing from P19 on the grid to P11 at the flag before a penalty dropped him to P13.

Here’s how it sounded when the chequered flag fell in Azerbaijan.

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Carlos Sainz’s radio was filled with emotion as he crossed the line to secure his first podium with the team, with Race Engineer Gaetan Jego (GJ) and Team Principal James Vowles (JV) both joining in the celebrations.

GJ: You’ll be taking the flag, you’re clear of Antonelli. Amazing job, all the way through the weekend! Kept your head down. Brilliant qualifying yesterday. Brilliant race today. That's P3 mate. Amazing job. Chequered Flag, P3, P3! Enjoy mate, enjoy. Brilliant race.

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

JV: Carlos, I've had the pleasure of having many podiums. I assure you, this one was up there for me. Well done. Vamos! Absolutely incredible. Come on! Let's go!

CS: COME ON! This is the beginning of something nice, guys. Thank you so much. Ahhhh! 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!

CS: I just want to say... This is my first Smoooooooth Operation in Williams! And not the last!

GJ: Loving it, loving it! Procedure, enter the pit lane and you will find board number three, just park there. When you park, switch the car off fully, get weighed and on to the podium ceremony. I’m sure you’ll see a lot of happy faces below the podium! Enjoy mate.

CS: VAMOS GAETANO! You sound a bit emotional, are you OK?!

CS: Hahaha! I love making a French(man) cry, a little bit of emotion. That’s it! Say hello to the family at home, Gaetan! Send them my regards.

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For Alex, Race Engineer James Urwin (JU) was the first on the radio after another determined drive, with James Vowles adding his thanks as both drivers played their part in ensuring we had a milestone weekend to celebrate.

JU: That's P13 in the end. Good pace in clear air, good pace at the end as well and length in the tyre, looked quite difficult to follow. Well done nonetheless.

JV: Well done, Alex. I know it was a tough day for you, the car had pace and you had pace. But come back here, let's celebrate as a team. As a team moving forward.

AA: Really well done, everyone. That's an amazing effort.

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Atlassian Williams

Azerbaijan 2025

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Race

Carlos Sainz is an Atlassian Williams Racing driver, racing alongside Alex Albon for the 2025 season and beyond. He joins the team after 4 years at Scuderia Ferrari, where he stood on the podium on multiple occasions and secured four race wins.

Carlos always had motor racing in his blood, first stepping into a kart at the age of 10 and quickly progressed through the karting ladder. Along the way he earned various accolades, including victory at the prestigious 2009 KF3 Monaco Kart Cup, a championship-winning season in the 2008 CIK-FIA Asia-Pacific KF3, and a runner-up finish in the 2009 KF3 Spanish Championship.

Carlos stepped up to single seaters at 16 years old, debuting in Formula BMW Europe where he secured a win and four further podiums. The following season saw Carlos win his first championship, achieving 10 wins and 7 more podiums in Formula Renault 2.0 NEC. He continued his climb through the junior ranks, culminating in a dominant Formula Renault 3.5 season where he clinched the title in his rookie year.

Following this impressive performance, Carlos was called up to Formula 1 with Scuderia Toro Rosso for the 2015 season. He began a three-year stint with the team, consistently showcasing blistering one-lap pace and developing strong race craft. Reaching a high of fourth place at the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix, Carlos switched to the Renault Sport F1 Team for the final four races of the season.

In his season at Renault, Carlos again showed his skill in qualifying, starting in the top ten for the first eight races of the season, and scoring points in all but one of these races. He achieved a season-best finish of fifth in Azerbaijan, then moved to McLaren for 2019.

The following two seasons at McLaren were breakthrough years for Carlos. He achieved his first F1 podium finish by taking third at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix, then going one better at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix where he finished second. He ended both the 2019 and 2020 seasons sixth in the drivers’ championship standings.

2022 saw him progress further, securing his maiden victory at the British Grand Prix, alongside eight other podiums. Continuing his run of form in the 2023 season, Carlos won the Singapore Grand Prix, with two more podiums at the Italian and US GPs.

In his strongest season yet, in 2024, Carlos won the Australian Grand Prix in impressive circumstances, having just returned to the cockpit from an appendectomy. His second win of the year came in Mexico where he put on a dominant display; qualifying on pole and finishing almost five seconds ahead of the runner-up. Carlos concluded the season fifth in the drivers’ championship, stepping on the podium a further seven times.

In July 2024, Carlos announced that he would be joining Atlassian Williams Racing, committing his future to the team.

Carlos Sainz

Alex Albon is an Atlassian Williams Racing Formula 1 driver, racing alongside Spanish teammate Carlos Sainz in 2025. This year marks Alex’s fourth year racing with the team, having hugely contributed to the team’s growth and development since joining in 2022.

It all begun for Alex at the age of eight where he began his motorsport journey. Alex started racing in the Honda Cadet class and quickly rose through the ranks, winning multiple titles along the way. He became a multiple champion at both the British and European levels, including claiming both the CIK-FIA World Cup and CIK-FIA European Championship in 2010 in the KF3 category.

Alex graduated to single seaters in 2012, spending three seasons competing in Formula Renault 2.0 and claiming a best finish of third overall in the 2014 Eurocup category. He subsequently stepped up to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2015, finishing seventh overall and stepping on to the podium five times. A move to the GP3 Series followed for 2016, with Alex narrowly missing out on the title, ending the year runner-up to Charles Leclerc, having achieved four wins and seven podium finishes.

Two consecutive years in FIA Formula 2 saw Alex claim third in the championship in 2018, only beaten by George Russell and Lando Norris. That precipitated a move into Formula One, with Alex drafted into Scuderia Toro Rosso for 2019. A number of eye-catching performances saw him promoted to Red Bull Racing after just 12 races, where he remained for 2020, scoring two podium finishes and finishing the season seventh overall.

For 2021, Alex was named as Red Bull Racing’s Reserve Driver. He combined the role with a full campaign in the DTM, where he finished sixth overall.

Alex returned to Formula 1 with Atlassian Williams Racing in 2022. During the season, Alex impressed the team with stand-out performances, including his debut points-scoring race in Melbourne, in addition to placing 9th in Miami and 10th in Belgium.

Alex also had a standout 2023 season finishing 13th place in the Drivers' Championship, scoring 27 points and helping the team secure seventh place in the Constructors' Championship. He made the top 10 seven times in Grands Prix with impressive P7 performances in Montreal and Monza and scoring in the Qatar sprint race.

2024 saw him score points at various races across the year including Monaco, Great Britain, Monza, and a season-best of 7th place in Azerbaijan, where the team collected its biggest points haul of the year.

Alex committed his future to the team in 2024, announcing that he will continue with Atlassian Williams Racing for 2025 and beyond.

Alex Albon

Radio Replay: Relive the chequered flag team radio from Baku as Carlos claimed a podium and Alex charged through the field

“This is my first Smooth Operation in Williams!"

Radio Replay: Relive the chequered flag team radio from Baku as Carlos claimed a podium and Alex charged through the field

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