Montoya senses upcoming Williams ‘fireworks’ in verdict involving McLaren

Juan Pablo Montoya is predicting potential “fireworks” between Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz at Williams next season, as Albon is set to be “under pressure to outperform” his new team-mate.

The former Williams and McLaren driver also believes the Grove-based team are currently on the “same path” as Constructors’ Championship leaders McLaren, albeit slightly further back in their progression.

‘Fireworks’ predicted between Williams pairing in F1 2025 season

Current Williams team leader Albon has dominated his in-house battles since returning to the grid with the team, outperforming Nicholas Latifi in 2022 before not being out-qualified at all for a Grand Prix by former team-mate Logan Sargeant in 18 months as team-mates, prior to the American being replaced by rookie Franco Colapinto for the remainder of the season.

The arrival of current Ferrari driver Sainz has largely been seen as a coup for Williams in 2025, however, with the Spaniard having been seen as the sport’s most sought-after free agent for much of the year.

Though Williams currently sit eighth in the Constructors’ Championship, having recently moved above Alpine, team principal James Vowles has been open in his ambitions to set the team up for future success, expressing his belief that his pairing of Albon and Sainz will be the best on the grid next year.

How the F1 2025 grid is shaping up

? F1 2025 driver line-up: Who is already confirmed for the 2025 grid?

? Revealed: What happened to Ferrari’s 10 other British signings?

For Montoya, he believes his former team is setting up for a better future, which could in turn set up a competitive team-mate battle between their two drivers next season.

“I think Williams is on the same path as McLaren but maybe one or two years behind McLaren,” Montoya told Gambling Zone.

“They’re getting better. They like their structure now. I think Williams has a pretty bright future ahead of them.

“They have realised they’ve got to rebuild from the ground up and not just patch things up.

“They’re thinking that even if it takes a little longer, they’re going to do it the right way.

“There might be fireworks in the team between the drivers Carlos and Alex! Alex is going to be under pressure to outperform Carlos.”

Albon is contracted to Williams until at least the end of 2026, while Sainz has signed an extended multi-year deal with the team which team principal Vowles revealed could be up to four years in length, which will begin next season.

Read next: Max Verstappen sends ‘never accept’ message to Oscar Piastri over McLaren team orders