Latest Episode | Cut To The Race Podcast
Williams Team Principal James Vowles claimed he was “over the moon” to sign Carlos Sainz for 2025 and suggested the Spaniard’s joining the team was “one step” in the right direction.
Williams targeting 2028
The signing of Sainz came months after it was announced that the three-time race winner would be replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari in 2025.
While Sainz has seen success in recent years at the front of the field, being able to challenge for race wins, the team he is joining hasn’t won a race since 2012, when Pastor Maldonado took the chequered flag at the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Oxfordshire-based team has yet to seal victory with a Mercedes power unit, something the former Silver Arrows strategy director will look to change in time for 2028.
When asked by F1 if Williams was still on target for being competitive by 2027, Vowles said:
“Crikey, I didn’t realise he said that.”
However, the British engineer expanded on what Williams’ future looks like.
“I think if you ask me to commit to a date, I would have said more ’28, but I think the point is we should be on the right journey to get towards there as well.
“Getting it right is the real key behind being successful in F1, not for one year but for many, many years in front. [So], ’28 I’d be a lot more confident about looking you in the eyes and saying, ‘Yes’.”
Sainz, the man for the job
Sainz, the son of former two-time World Rally Championship winner Carlos Sainz Sr., has 23 podiums in F1 and four pole positions and has raced at Torro Rosso, McLaren, Ferrari, and Renault.
He will become the second Spanish driver to race for the British team, following in the footsteps of Marc Gené, who raced in 2003/04.
Vowles explained how he “enjoyed the moment” when he signed the multiple race winner to lineup alongside existing Williams driver Alex Albon.
“When it was signed, I was over the moon, and he [Sainz] knows I was over the moon,” Vowles added.
“When I told the factory, which was effectively there and then, I enjoyed the moment. Moments like this, they don’t come many times in your career, where you’ve made a pivotal decision that will completely change the direction and course of an organisation.”
The Williams boss went on to say how this was just the first step of “about a thousand” in their return to the top.
“It was within our management committee, they asked, ‘Right, what are we doing to celebrate?’.” He added. ‘And I said, ‘We’re not celebrating’. This is just one step of about a thousand that we need to achieve along our journey to be successful.
“I’ll celebrate when you come to me and say, ‘Congratulations, Williams is a strong competitor fighting for wins and fighting for championships’. As horrible as that sounds, that’s what it takes to get me to a point where I believe we’ve been successful.
“Carlos is a huge asset, he’s a brilliant driver, but he’s a step along the way for this team moving back towards the front.”
Featured image: Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images