When it came to the 2025 Formula 1 drivers’ market, James Vowles didn’t think twice.
Sainz officially became available on 1 February 2024 as Ferrari revealed it had signed seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton alongside Charles Leclerc, and the four-time grand prix winner’s services were coveted over the following months.
Alpine and Sauber in particular were hoping to secure the Spaniard but failed, despite potential links between the future Audi team and his father, who had represented the German brand in the previous three runnings of the Dakar Rally.
Instead of banking on a manufacturer drive, Sainz bought into the Williams vision that was presented to him by team principal Vowles, who has now been in office for two years and set to modernise the legendary British outfit, with over 300 hires during that period.
Attracting Sainz was crucial for Williams. Incumbent Alexander Albon has delivered since he joined the team in 2022 – scoring 43 of the team’s 53 points over the last three seasons – but youngsters Logan Sargeant and Franco Colapinto both struggled with too many crashes, despite flashes of speed from the latter.
Franco Colapinto, Williams FW46
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
For Williams, Sainz is a safe pair of hands that can be trusted to bring consistent results, and an equally valuable technical mind.
“A really good way of working with Alex, especially when we look at control systems – so differentials, brake maps, etc.,” Vowles said when asked what Sainz was bringing to the team, as Williams launched its new FW47 challenger.
“It brings a whole new dimension, where Franco, for all of his skill in the car, obviously we were almost teaching him along the way what the control systems do.
“We now have an expert in it that has won races, and that’s really brought the team up. The same with starts – think of all the ancillary items.
“So not even driving the car, I can just see a dimensional change in how we’re performing, from where we were before to where we are today.”
Vowles was particularly impressed with the immediacy of Sainz’s input, when he drove the FW46 in last year’s post-season test at Yas Marina Circuit.
“When he tested in Abu Dhabi, he gave us very good, instantaneous and direct feedback on the aerodynamics,” the Briton added. “The good news is he is aligned with Alex, and the more good news is they were areas we were targeting for 2025.
“We were able to understand where our weaknesses lay relative to a car he’d driven just a few days before that had winning potential – and more importantly make sure that the direction of travel that we’re in, which I’m pleased to say is correct, was on the right pathway.
“He knows what excellent looks like: he was in a race-winning category last year, and a car that was a benchmark for a lot of the year, so he brings that with him.
Carlos Sainz, Williams FW47
Photo by: Williams
“Finally, this one’s just a little bit more qualitative, but I see an organisation around me that is smiley, happy, whose shoulders are lifted because they can see a pathway forward towards success, and that very much has Carlos’ and Alex’s names written all over it. So that’s what he brings to it.”
How long will Sainz remain smiley himself, though? The former Toro Rosso, Renault and McLaren driver got used to being a consistent podium achiever and victory contender during his time at Ferrari, but it will be a whole different ballgame with a team whose latest top-three result on merit dates back to the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and whose best finish in 2024 was Albon’s seventh position… in Baku as well.
“My honest point on that is I don’t know how I’m going to react to fighting for P7 to P15,” Sainz pondered. “I don’t know how much I’m going to miss it. I don’t know how much fun I’m going to find it.
“How much will I miss a win, and how jealous will I be of people that are fighting for positions that I used to be fighting for? I cannot say how much I’ll feel that.”
What will help Sainz adjust to the situation is how comfortable he is within the team. When it comes to his new squad, the veteran is rapturously laudatory: “I’m very happy, I’m very motivated, I’m excited, I feel supported.
“I have a team principal and a team that fully trusts in my abilities and that wants to listen to what I say.
“What I like from this team is that they’re extremely excited to hear me, to listen, and they’re asking a lot of questions.
“I feel everything that I’ve said has been applied, and I think it could have an impact soon.”
Carlos Sainz, Williams FW47
Photo by: Williams
Sainz too will be required to make an impact and be at the top of his game. “You can tell the midfield has caught up a lot with the top teams, and that’s why in Abu Dhabi Q1 we were all within half a second of one another,” the 30-year-old pointed out, with 0.431s then separating second-placed Valtteri Bottas from Colapinto in 19th position.
“So to fill that half a second over a full lap, we’re talking about half a tenth per corner. Am I good enough to fill half a tenth per corner? You need to be really good to fill it.”
Williams will certainly need it, as teams’ performances are expected to keep converging through this final season of regulatory stability in F1.
Additional reporting by Filip Cleeren and Alex Kalinauckas
In this article
Ben Vinel
Formula 1
Carlos Sainz
Williams
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