Williams Racing F1 boss James Vowles has detailed the important work Carlos Sainz has done since joining the team as the Grove-based squad look to move back toward the front of the sport in the coming years.
Vowles pulled off a real coup by getting Sainz to agree to a multi-year deal with Williams F1, starting in Melbourne next month.
The 30-year-old won four races in his four seasons at Scuderia Ferrari, and he almost departed as a Constructors’ Championship winner. The Italian giants missed out on the title by 14 points to McLaren in Abu Dhabi last December.
The key changes Sainz is helping Williams F1 with according to Vowles
Speaking on Friday in a virtual media session after the launch of the Williams Racing FW47 F1 car, the British engineer outlined the difference Sainz has made since his arrival, including subtle but important changes on the technical side.
“A few things.
“A really good way of working with Alex, especially when we look at control systems, so differentials, brake maps, etc. So it brings a whole new dimension where Franco, for all of his skill in the car, obviously we were almost teaching him along the way what the control systems do.
“We now have an expert in it that has won races and that’s brought the team upwards.
“Same with starts. Think of all the ancillary items. So not even driving the car, I can just see a dimensional change in how we’re performing from where we were before to where we are today.”
The importance of running in the F1 Abu Dhabi post-season test
Ferrari granted Carlos Sainz an opportunity to drive the FW46 in the week after the race at Yas Marina.
The Spanish driver had finished a very strong P2 to Lando Norris in the Abu Dhabi GP. He almost signed off with a perfect farewell from the Scuderia.
As the Italian giants had finished the season so strongly thanks to their update at Monza, it gave Williams the perfect opportunity to understand their weaknesses in comparison to Ferrari with Carlos Sainz behind the wheel, says James Vowles.
“The next element is it was incredibly useful and powerful having him [Carlos Sainz] testing with us in Abu Dhabi because we were able to understand where our weaknesses lie relative to a car he’d driven just a few days before that had winning potential.
“And more importantly, make sure the direction of travel that we’re in, which I’m pleased to say is correct, was on the right pathway.”
Team morale on the rise
Williams have been in the doldrums for many, many years. Two wins since the beginning of the 2004 season is proof of that. They were regular race winners and often championship contenders in the previous decades to that.
Last year was brutal on the team. The mechanics had to work overtime in the closing part of the season. A series of crashes left them facing many rebuilds. An overweight car certainly did not help either.
Vowles says the mood at Williams Racing is lifting. The fact they signed a multi-time race winner alongside Albon has helped that. 2025 will be the start of a long journey back to the front.
“Finally, this one’s just a little bit more qualitative, but I see an organisation around me that is smiley, happy, whose shoulders are lifted because they can see a pathway forward towards success.
“And that very much has Carlos’s and Alex’s names written all over it. So that’s what he brings to it.”
