Williams team principal James Vowles haa discussed the signing of Carlos Sainz for 2025, denying any rumours of an exit clause in the Spaniards contract with the team.
With the news breaking yesterday that Carlos Sainz will join the ranks at Williams from next season, the rumour mill has been in high gear, with suggestions of a potential exit clause for the Spaniard, should a seat at a top team become available. Speaking to selected media this afternoon, Williams team principal James Vowles laid these rumours to rest.
Vowels explained that Sainz had the intention of making his commitment to the team absolutely clear, following months of rumours regarding his future with the news of Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari.
“There are precisely 10 people in the world that know what the interior in the contract holds,” Vowles said. “The Carlos camp know, and I know, what’s inside it. Anything you’ve read on the internet is speculation, and that is it.
“The message that it’s ’25 and ’26 and beyond did not come from myself, that came from Carlos. He wanted it to be abundantly clear to all of you, to the world, that he is committed, and this is where he wants to be.”
Discussing the slow process of putting pen to paper, Vowles admitted he was not confident in the deal until the contract had been signed. Sainz did not rush in making his decision which has brought the driver market to a near standstill for weeks.
Vowles explained that Williams’ poor showing at Sainz’ home Grand Prix in Barcelona slowed the process which contributed to his lack of confidence in getting the deal done. It had been reported on the Thursday that the 29-year-old would be confirmed that weekend.
“The moment it looked realistic was when his pen hit the paper. That’s the only time I thought it looked realistic,” he said. “I got stung earlier in the year around Barcelona time, I thought we were in a very good state – and that’s on our shoulders, we had a shockingly bad event, and you can’t do that in professional sport.
“There are no teams that have properly been committing or deciding their direction of travel right at the front, and that includes right up until now, last weekend, where there’s still discussions over where does [Sergio] Perez go? What changes there?
“When you have that instability, it’s completely normal that a driver won’t commit to you until such a point as they know what their future holds, and what doors and avenues close. That’s my opinion on it. So as I said, until pen hit paper, I wasn’t confident.”
Delving into the driver market, Vowles admits he was surprised Sainz had not been signed by a team at the upper end of the grid. He commented on the Spaniards drive to improve a team, as well as his track record at previous teams.
“I rate him as one of the top four drivers, if not at times the number two driver on the grid,” he noted. “Why wouldn’t you want that in your stable?
“My view of things is, fundamentally, competitors are getting closer and closer, so the marginal difference the driver can make — and I don’t just mean in performance terms. Look at Carlos and look at every team he has been in; they have improved significantly. I get why, after spending the last nine months talking to him at least weekly, if not daily, in truth.
“Rachel, my partner, has been very confused as to our relationship together relative to mine with Carlos.
“Carlos is a performance machine. He absolutely will do everything it takes within his power to not transform just himself, but the team around him at the same time. That’s powerful, that’s worth more than what he can drive the car at, that’s worth that you move the team forward at the same amount.”
