James Vowles reveals he approached Carlos Sainz for Williams move before Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari announcement

James Vowles claimed that he offered Carlos Sainz a seat at Williams long before the Spaniard was informed about Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari.

James Vowles reveals he approached Carlos Sainz for Williams move before Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari announcement

Carlos Sainz, James Vowles, and Lewis Hamilton (images via IMAGO)

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was left without a seat after Maranello decided to sign Lewis Hamilton for 2025. The Spanish driver spent almost six months considering several options. It was Williams which emerged as the winner after Sainz signed a two-year deal. Now, Williams boss James Vowles revealed when these negotiations had actually started.

Vowles highlighted that he and Carlos Sainz had been in talks for several months. Although, the Williams boss made it clear that these talks became a lot more public in recent weeks, something he would not have wanted ideally. James Vowles claimed that the discussions began at last year’s season finale at Abu Dhabi.

The conversation has been many months. It hasn't been weeks, of which you've been privy to some of it because it's been a bit more public than I would normally do with a driver discussion, but it actually started way back in Abu Dhabi last year.
James Vowles said, as reported by Motorsport.com
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This was at a time when Sainz was believed to go for an extension with Ferrari. As Hamilton’s move was only made public in February. However, James Vowles had his eyes set at the Spanish driver. The Williams boss asserted that he only talked to one driver who he thought could make the difference and that was Carlos Sainz.

There's only one driver I spoke to in Abu Dhabi last year, only one, and it was Carlos, just to be super clear. I didn't spread bet. I went for one driver that I thought would make the difference.
James Vowles stated

James Vowles tried to position Williams in the ‘most sensible way’ for Carlos Sainz

At the end of the 2023 season, Williams was making progress in the midfield. However, Carlos Sainz was focused on getting a new contract from Ferrari after the Spanish driver secured the only non-Red Bull victory that year in Singapore. Nevertheless, Vowles did his best to make a case for the Grove-based squad.

Carlos Sainz and James Vowles
Carlos Sainz and James Vowles (via IMAGO)

The Williams boss claimed that he tried to position the team in the most sensible way for the 29-year-old. However, Vowles noted that it was performance that really mattered at the end. If a team was scoring points consistently, they would receive a lot more phone calls.

My point was to position myself in the most sensible way possible for that. But performance drives everything. If you're in the points you have a lot more phone calls than if you're not.
James Vowles explained

Ultimately, things worked out for James Vowles as Carlos Sainz decided to join the British team. Although, one could be certain that this wouldn’t have been the case if Hamilton had not taken his seat at Ferrari. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how things pan out between Sainz and his new team next season.

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