Williams team principal James Vowles has expressed surprise that rival teams Mercedes and Red Bull did not show interest in signing Carlos Sainz, whom he considers “one of the top four drivers – if not at times the number two driver on the grid.”
The team announced on Monday that Sainz, who was dropped by Ferrari at the end of this season, will join Williams for the 2025 season. Vowles commented on Sainz’s performance, noting, “Look at Carlos. Look at every team he has been in. They have improved significantly – and I get why.”
After spending nine months communicating with Sainz weekly, Vowles remarked, “what I’ve realised is he is a performance machine. He will do everything in his power to transform himself and the team around him. And that’s powerful. That’s worth more than what he can drive the car at. Why wouldn’t you want that in your stable?”
Sainz, who has won three Grands Prix with Ferrari and finished fifth in the drivers’ championship three times, has been closely matched with his teammate Charles Leclerc since joining Ferrari in 2021. Sainz outperformed Leclerc in the standings during his first season but has not done so since.
The 29-year-old lost his seat at Ferrari due to the team’s decision to extend Leclerc’s contract and secure Lewis Hamilton after he indicated a willingness to leave Mercedes, despite recently signing a new contract. Red Bull opted to extend Sergio Perez’s contract alongside Max Verstappen through 2025 and 2026 instead of pursuing Sainz.
Mercedes also communicated to Sainz that they were not ready to commit to him, as they are expected to promote their 17-year-old prospect Andrea Kimi Antonelli to partner George Russell in 2025. Additionally, the team is eyeing Verstappen, believing they could lure him from Red Bull by 2026, despite his contract lasting until 2028.
Vowles shared his thoughts on Sainz’s signing, stating, “Red Bull have a constructors’ championship at risk – I would have Carlos alongside Max [rather than Perez]. Mercedes have more info than I do. It’s more than likely that they are very confident in the direction they will be travelling in. Whether that will be Max or Kimi, I’m unsure – but they’re not fools.”
He further noted that Sainz has made it clear he is committed to Williams for at least the next two seasons. “The message that it was 2025 and 2026 and beyond did not come from us,” Vowles said. “It came from Carlos. He wanted it to be abundantly clear to all of you and the world that he is committed and this is where he wanted to be.”
Vowles joined Williams at the start of last year after being part of the successful Mercedes team that won eight consecutive constructors’ titles from 2014 to 2021 and seven drivers’ championships from 2014 to 2020. He expressed pride in Sainz choosing Williams over manufacturer-backed teams such as Sauber, which will become Audi in 2026, and Alpine, owned by Renault. Vowles described this choice as “a huge, monumental decision” and “one of the proudest moments of my career.”
Currently, Williams sits ninth in the World Championship standings after finishing seventh last year. Vowles has been working on modernizing the team, which has created some unexpected challenges, including issues with the car’s weight. He stated that his efforts to update the construction processes have resulted in the car remaining overweight, but he is optimistic about the aerodynamic performance.
Vowles recounted his initial approach to Sainz, explaining, “From the beginning I gave him warts-and-all ‘here’s what’s going to happen.’ We are going to go backwards. Here’s why. Here’s what we’re investing in. Here’s what’s coming. Here’s why I’m excited by this project, and it’s your choice if you want to be a part it. But I know we will have success in the future and it will cost us in the short term and I am confident that honesty and transparency has paid off.”
He acknowledged the car’s weight issues but maintained that the aerodynamic performance is reasonable. “It was worse than I expected it to be in that there was more weight on the car, but the aerodynamic performance of the car is in a reasonable place. We just have to shed that weight off it and we can start fighting at the front.”
