James Vowles, the Williams team principal, does not say too much about the driver who will join Alexander Albon in 2025 in Formula 1. But talking about the progress and work behind the scenes, he makes us understand what could convince Carlos Sainz to embrace this project
June 3, 2024
CWhat can Williams really offer Carlos Sainz? The market rumors that see the Grove team as an option for the Ferrari driver for the 2025 Formula 1 season have surprised many fans. With the Mercedes and Red Bull options blurred, why should Sainz prefer Williams to Sauber, considering Audi’s arrival in 2026? He indirectly provided an answer to this question Williams team principal James Vowlesa few days after the renewal of Alexander Albon’s contract.
“I want to be honest with you as I was with Alex – he explained with admirable frankness to the journalists present at a meeting organized in Imola -. We are not where we want to be, but we know how to fix the situation, creating the right environment. We’ll have to work hard, and that’s what I’ll do.” Things, he underlined, are already changing: “When I got here, there were about 700 employees. Today we have more than 1000, and we’re not done with hiring. It is a change that demonstrates our internal growth. But we are also working on the operational front. The division that deals with the production of single-seaters has undergone a profound process of change, also at a structural and leadership level.”
“Now we are in a situation where I have much more confidence in the work that production can do, in terms of quality – he added -. It’s a big change, which cannot happen all at once. It will continue for years, and within the company there are figures responsible for this metamorphosis. The same also applies to the design division, modified in such a way as to reach standards compatible with today’s F1 in terms of costs, times and quality.”
ORIn addition to the operational changes, they are also moving forward at Williams an important purchasing campaign. “The arrivals of personnel from Red Bull and Ferrari will help us to give a touch of excellence to our company, to make a further leap,” observed Vowles, before raising a very interesting point. “The goal is not to replicate what Red Bull is doing, but to do even better in terms of infrastructure. If we bought exactly what they have today, we would be five years behind them in how to exploit this material. Copying is not enough, we need to do more.”
The current situation, in any case, is not the most rosy. “Our single-seaters are above the minimum weight – admitted Vowles -. From 2023 to 2024 we saved 14kg by working on the frame. It’s an amazing job, but we’re still four and a half tenths slower due to the excess weight which we had to add despite the slimming treatment of the frame”. If we are working on weight reduction at Imola, there is another significant problem: accidents. “Since the start of the season we have destroyed four gearboxes and damaged five bottoms, four front wings, and four rear wings. It’s unacceptable. I could never have imagined such a huge bill over three races, but here we are. It must not happen again”.
LThe priority, however, still remains the future. “It’s not that we don’t care about this year, but we want to be successful in the future. To do that, we need to make some strong decisions.”. With the help of a pilot, Albonwhich Vowles defines as “a leader, with immense strength, great self-confidence and commendable honesty.” “Netfix was there when we announced Alex’s renewal at the factory. There was a roar,” Vowles said. “Alex does more than just be fast behind the wheel – that’s just part of the equation. He is also very skilled at focusing on performance and communicating what is needed to those who would do anything to make him successful.”
But to help Williams win, Vowles is willing to do even more. He didn’t hideIndeed, that he even contacted the most coveted technician on the market, Adrian Newey. “I respect Adrian very much, who has a history at Williams. First of all I wanted to talk to him, to convince him that this is the right place. We have stopped our conversations for now, but they will continue. He’s not in a big hurry, which is a great thing. We must be direct, and make sure that our name is also among the eligible teams.”
As for the second seat, Vowles explained that “there are three options for 2025 and 2026. But for now we need to focus on doing the best job we can. Logan (Sargeant, ed) for his part has control of the situation, he must give his best. It’s all in his hands, I didn’t want to take this opportunity away from him. But it is clear that we also need to talk to others.” AND among these there would be Carlos Sainz, that by embracing Williams’ project he would indeed find himself in a lesser team, but with a clear program for the future, drawn up by an honest team principal, who bases his work on facts. Will this be enough to convince him?
