James Vowles outlines how the arrival of Carlos Sainz has impacted Williams’ focus for 2025

Williams will boast a strong driver pairing in 2025 as Carlos Sainz partners Alex Albon at the Grove-based outfit.

The Spaniard moves across from Ferrari after spending four years at the Maranello squad. Sainz knew he would be leaving Ferrari back in February when the team announced he would be replaced by Lewis Hamilton in 2025.

The 30-year-old enjoyed a solid 2024 season to mark the end of his time with F1’s most successful team. Sainz finished fifth in the Drivers’ Championship – just two points behind Oscar Piastri – and grabbed two wins and nine podiums.

Sainz has signed a £8.5m-a-year contract with Williams that runs until the end of the 2026 season, but Wiliams have the option to extend that deal for 2027 and 2028.

Sainz got his first outing with Williams in Abu Dhabi in the post-season test on Tuesday, two days after he finished second for Ferrari at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Spaniard was second fastest in the session behind his now former teammate Charles Leclerc – although timings mean nothing at this stage.

Sainz wore plain white racing overalls during the test as he is still under contract at Ferrari until the new year. The 30-year-old will be able to sport Williams’ blue colour and sponsors come January.

James Vowles says Carlos Sainz has given Williams ‘two leaders’ that can move the team forward

The signing of Sainz is a major coup for Williams in 2025 and for when the new technical regulations come to F1 the following year.

The Grove-based outfit want to return to the front of the grid after a major decline in recent years, and with Sainz being a race winner partnering Albon – who has been very impressive since joining in 2022 – Williams have the foundations to push on and reach their targets.

Speaking on the official Williams YouTube channel, team principal James Vowles says Sainz’s arrival means the team now have ‘two leaders’ that can help push the boundaries and develop the team forward ‘in every regard.’

“With the arrival of Carlos for 2025, our focus is really working together as a team.

“So, this is about two leaders which is what Alex and Carlos are, developing the team forward in every regard. We need to make sure we’re pushing the boundaries of what we do in race engineering, strategy, data. What we’re doing at the factory, what we’re doing for comfort.

“And with those two drivers, we have a focus on the team and how we’re going to work together to make sure the car moves forward across 2025 and more importantly in 2026 with a clean sheet of paper, is everything we want to achieve together.”

Did Carlos Sainz make a mistake joining Williams?

Sainz is ‘100’ sure that Williams is not a step back from Ferrari, but given their performance in 2024, there is no denying that it is a risky move.

The Grove-based outfit suffered a setback in 2024 compared to the year prior. This was in part due to the struggles of Logan Sargeant who – while Albon was fighting to get into Q3 on occasion and carrying the team in terms of points – had multiple accidents and failed to register a point before being sacked after Zandvoort.

Franco Colapinto improved the team’s fortunes with his impressive early races, but the Argentine also proved to be accident-prone, costing Williams millions in damages in the last few events. The Grove-based outfit ultimately finished ninth in the standings with just 17 points – 11 less than 2023.

With not much expected to change in 2025 before the new technical regulations, Sainz could be languishing at the back of the field next season, with no guarantee that Williams are going to perform come 2026.

The Spaniard does not seem to be bothered by that as he is just happy to still be an F1 driver. But Tom Coronel thinks Sainz should have joined Sauber as they will have more ‘clout’ than Williams when Audi take over in 2026.