One of the standout drivers from the Belgian Grand Prix who potentially didn’t get the credit he deserved was Williams star Alex Albon.
The last few races have seen some people question whether Williams have shifted focus too early to their 2026 car to cement their place as the best of the rest in the constructors’ championship this season.
Nico Hulkenberg’s Silverstone podium suddenly put James Vowles’ team under pressure, but the Belgian Grand Prix saw Williams once again extend their advantage over their rivals.
Haas were the standout team during the Sprint Race, securing fifth and seventh after a blistering performance in qualifying.
However, Carlos Sainz was the driver who split Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman and scored three important points before a disappointing race on Sunday.
Alex Albon was more than capable of picking up the pieces for Williams, qualifying fifth ahead of George Russell.
Jenson Button was quick to praise Albon after securing his third row start, and fellow world champion Damon Hill sent the Thai driver a message after he held off Ferrari star Lewis Hamilton for the final two-thirds of the race to score eight valuable points for Williams at Spa.
READ MORE: Williams star Alex Albon’s life outside F1 with net worth, girlfriend to parents
Photo by DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty ImagesDamon Hill sends message to Alex Albon after finishing sixth at the Belgian Grand Prix
Albon lost out to Russell in the early stages of the race, but was able to stabilise and open up a gap in front of Liam Lawson during the opening stint.
However, Hamilton delivered a tactical masterclass, pitting a lap earlier than his rivals having already overtaken five drivers to leap up to P7.
That put him right behind Albon after he switched onto the medium tyres, and it wasn’t long before Hamilton was trying to overtake him.
RANKDRIVERTEAMPOINTS1Oscar PiastriMcLaren252Lando NorrisMcLaren183Charles LelcercFerrari154Max VerstappenRed Bull125George RussellMercedes106Alex AlbonWilliams87Lewis HamiltonFerrari68Liam LawsonRacing Bulls49Gabriel BortoletoSauber210Pierre GaslyAlpine1
Unfortunately for Ferrari, that’s where Hamilton’s progress stopped, as he simply couldn’t get close enough to Albon in a newly updated Williams to pass him.
Posting on his own Instagram story, Albon said: “Good battles, good points. P6 in Spa, solid weekend & big effort from everyone back at the factory.”
Hill then reacted to Albon’s performance on his own social media, and in response to a post about the Williams star finishing sixth, he said: “Had to work hard for that.”
READ MORE: All to know about Williams Racing from team principal to Mercedes ties
Alex Albon ‘really happy’ to be at the front of the midfield at the Belgian Grand Prix
Speaking after the race in his official press conference, Albon said: “I’m really happy; we’re top of the midfield, so that’s always nice, and I managed to hold off Lewis, which is never easy.
“I struggled a little bit in the rain, which is to be expected, so I lost that position to George early on, but after that, we settled in and were able to maintain position and finish strong.
“It was important not to make mistakes with Lewis behind, but I think his downforce worked in our favour.
“As a team, we did a great job as it’s not easy beating those top teams, so it’s good to see our package is working well.”
Position Drivers’ Championship PointsPts 1 266 2 250 3 185 4 157 5 139 6 109 7 63 8 54 9 37 10 27
Nico Rosberg was confused by Albon’s behaviour in the cockpit when he spoke about how he toggles his delta times during qualifying.
It’s a tactic that clearly seemed to work after securing his best qualifying result since the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix, and Albon has helped extend Williams’ lead in the constructors’ championship to 27 points over Sauber.