F1 fans love what James Vowles told Carlos Sainz after admitting he lost ‘confidence’ in Williams during the Miami Grand Prix

Williams have enjoyed an incredible start to the 2025 Formula 1 season. However, frustrations have been evident from Carlos Sainz.

The Spaniard was expected to provide tough competition to teammate Alex Albon after moving from Ferrari over the winter. Many even expected Sainz to dominate the Thai driver, but thus far, it has been the other way round.

Despite not having any focus on their 2025 car as they look ahead to the 2026 F1 regulations, Williams have proven to be the best of the rest. The Grove outfit are fifth in the constructors’ championship with 37 points, nearly double the tally they scored in 2024.

Albon has been particularly impressive, with two P5 finishes this season in Melbourne and last time out at the Miami Grand Prix. The Thai driver knows the Williams operation inside and out, having been with the team since 2022, while Sainz is still learning to adapt.

It has been a difficult start to 2025 for the 30-year-old. While he is starting to get his FW47 into the points more regularly, he is struggling in comparison to his teammate, with seven points to Albon’s 30.

Sainz is ‘reverse engineering’ his cornering style as he looks to fix his issues at Williams. But his frustrations were made clear after the Miami GP.

James Vowles and Gaetan Jego encourage Carlos Sainz over the radio after he ‘lost confidence’ in Williams

Martin Brundle felt Williams would have an ‘uncomfortable’ time with Sainz and Albon as teammates. While the pair are leaders and can guide the team forward behind the scenes, they are also fiercely competitve.

In Jeddah, the duo displayed great teamwork as Sainz kept Albon in DRS range to prevent Isack Hadjar from catching up in P10. But in Miami, the latter did not return the favour.

Sainz collided with his teammate in the first-corner chaos, giving him significant floor damage. Albon would later pass the Spaniard and the fortune from the virtual safety car allowed him to bring his car home in fifth.

While Sainz scored two points, he made his frustrations clear over the radio as he stated he had ‘lost a lot of confidence’ with the team’s operation. Race engineer Gaetan Jego and team principal James Vowles were quick to encourage him as he fought with the Ferraris during the race.

Jego came over the radio as the race ended: “P9 for you, Alex P5. That’s good to see us fighting Ferrari and Antonelli. That was a strong race, a lot of things to learn, something to discuss.

To which Sainz responded: “Yeah, that’s not how I go racing guys. I don’t care. I’ve lost a lot of confidence here on everything.”

Vowles came quickly over the radio to praise the Spaniard’s performance: “Carlos, no point on discussing this at the moment but I agree with you, we need proper engagement from him (Alex). Well done picking up points, you had damage to the car, but well done for coming.”

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F1 fans love what James Vowles told Carlos Sainz after losing ‘confidence’ at the Miami Grand Prix

Sainz has brought fundamental changes to Williams behind the scenes as the team looked to be quicker than Ferrari in Miami. Vowles was quick to remind the Spaniard of his impact as he expressed his discontent over the radio.

On Instagram, F1 fans were loving the Williams boss’ handling of the situation as he reminded him how strong of an impact he had over the weekend.

“One fan said: “I love James. He really cares about ALL his drivers,” while another echoed: “I love how James reassured him.”

“JV is such a nice guy,” said one user, while another argued that: “James is def one of the best TP.” The Brit has had a huge impact on Williams since arriving from Mercedes, leading them into the midfield from the back of the grid.

Several fans lauded Vowles’ response to Sainz’s anger. One said: “Good for James to take inmediately the mic to calm and give back Carlos the confidence he lost,” while another added: “Poor Carlos, W James for letting him know its not all him, what a drive the guy had too.”