Report: Alex impresses in Italy with P7

Another Sunday of making moves gets Alex up seven position in the 2025 Italian GP

Published

07 SEP 2025

Est. reading time

4 min

Alex's point-scoring ways since the summer break continued into Italy after his Dutch GP climb up the order last weekend. It was 10 positions gained in Zandvoort, and another seven around Monza, taking Alex to a P7 finish at the Temple of Speed.

Consistent quick laps on a long stint of Hard-tyre running for 41 laps elevated Albono up the order as he overcut the tight midfield pack.

It wasn't just strategy that boosted Alex, though, with some brave battling and maximising his tyre performance assisting him up from his P14 start to gain six more points for his 2025 tally.

One position was handed to the bottom-10 drivers before the race began as Nico Hulkenberg retired on the formation lap, immediately leapfrogging Albono to P13.

A tidy opening lap had him go wheel-to-wheel with Atlassian Williams Racing teammate Carlos Sainz on the exit of the Rettifilo chicane. However, with the team splitting their drivers on tyres, Sainz's Mediums had more grip than Alex's Hards to see him stay in P13.

The opening stint saw little action in the midfield as a DRS train formed from P3 down to P17. He kept his concentration to remain glued to the back of Sainz's rear wing as others made mistakes, most notably Esteban Ocon behind, who picked up a five-second penalty for an incident with Lance Stroll.

Alex keeps his cool as his rivals fight behind him.

Ocon's incident let Alex avoid driving on his mirrors and he put the pressure on ahead as his Pirelli Hards continued giving pace as the Mediums faded. A lock-up at Roggia had Sainz skip the chicane but staying ahead as the Williams pair ran in formation.

Pit stops began on Lap 19 for the midfielders, letting the FW47 duo reach P9 as others swapped tyres. The split strategies for the Williams drivers soon had the team radioing in to switch the positions, letting Alex ahead for P8 and into clean air.

That decision soon paid off, as Alex used the longer life of the Hards to open a gap to Sainz, despite a brief moment skipping the Turn 1 chicane. The continued pit stops of the Medium-tyre runners kept Alex without anyone ahead, and he reached P4 by Lap 40.

Stopping for his Mediums on Lap 41, Alex returned to the track in P10 by overcutting his squabbling rivals after putting in a string of personal best lap times.

Kimi Antonelli was the car ahead, and the Italian teenager was on aging Hards, which saw Alex quickly closing in. A probe at Rettifilo left Albono on the grass, but he kept pushing to get alongside at Curve Grande and through to P9 by the Roggia braking zone.

With the next two cars ahead being the still-to-pit Ocon and Stroll, Alex kept pushing up to their exhausts until they stopped for fresh tyres, letting Alex cross the line in P7 after a near-perfect Sunday drive.

"Yes! YES! That was a nice one," was Alex's celebratory radio message when crossing the line.

"Great stint on the Hards," returned the pit wall. "And good pace on the Medium as well. Well done and well deserved.

Alex replied by saying, "Good turnaround everyone; we don't make it easy on ourselves, but the pace of the car was there."

James Vowles, the Williams Team Principal, summed it up by closing with, "Well done Alex. Really, really impressive P7. Massive points for us."

Alex gave more details on his Sunday after getting out of the car:

"Today we had a fantastic strategy and great car pace.

"I think when you have the two together, you're going to have a good time with it.

"Honestly, it was meant to be a tough race on paper but as we were the first car on Hard tyres, it was quite a comfortable race, and the car was nice to drive and really quick.

"I'd say it was one of the best Sundays balance-wise I've had all year.

"In many parts of the race we were just as quick as the top teams, so it was a great comeback from a tough qualifying."