James Vowles "surprised"
Williams team principal "surprised" others teams didn't want Carlos Sainz
James Vowles says he thinks Carlos Sainz is “one of the top four drivers - if not at times the number two driver on the grid” .
It was announced recently that the Spanish driver would join the historic team based in Grove UK
Vowles also said he was "surprised" that neither Mercedes or Red Bull wanted Sainz next season.
“Look at Carlos” said Vowles. “Look at every team he has been in. They have improved significantly - and I get why.”
"After spending the last nine months talking to him at least weekly, 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 has won three grands prix for Ferrari and finished fifth in the drivers' championship three times. He was originally part of the Red Bull team in the sister team Torro Rosso alongside current World Champion Max Verstappen before going to Renault and McLaren before going the Ferrari team
He has been close to his team-mate Charles Leclerc since joining Ferrari in 2021, beating him in the standings in his first season, but hasn't since.
Sainz lost his Ferrari seat because the team signed Leclerc on a new, long-term contract last winter and then signed Lewis Hamilton after he said he was open to leaving Mercedes even tho he signed a contract with the team
Red Bull extend Sergio Perez’s contract as team-mate to Max Verstappen for 2025 and 2026
Mercedes have made it very clear they were not yet wanting to sign Sainz and have more interest in their junior development driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli to race alongside George Russell in 2025. Mercedes also have a eye on Verstappen, who they believe they can grab from Red Bull for 2026, even though he is contracted to stay with Red Bull to the end of 2028.
In Vowles first comments to the press since Sainz's signing he said “Red Bull have a constructors championship at risk - I would have Carlos alongside Max”
“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.”
“Red Bull will also have reasons behind it that I won't be aware of, because they are multiple world champions. They don’t make decisions lightly, but I was surprised.”
Vowles said Sainz is atleast commited to the team for a the next two years
"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 moved to Williams at the start of last year after being part of the Mercedes team that has won eight consecutive constructors titles from 2014 to 2021 and seven drivers championships from 2014 to 2020.
He said the fact Sainz chose Williams over manufacturer-backed teams Sauber, who will become Audi in 2026, and Alpine, owned by Renault, was “a huge, monumental decision” and “one of the proudest moments of my career”.
Williams finished seventh in the World Championship last year but have slipped to ninth after 14 races this season.