Williams address worry of Carlos Sainz moving from front to back of grid

Carlos Sainz will swap the team who sit second in the constructors’ championship for the ninth-placed team in 2025.

It is a major achievement for Williams to convince the outgoing Ferrari driver to come their way next year.

His commitment to their long-term project may mean giving up grand prix wins that he has become accustomed to in the shorter term.

F1 Nation podcast host Tom Clarkson addressed that worry with Williams team principal James Vowles.

Clarkson asked: “Do you have any concerns that it will be a difficult transition for Carlos? He’s already won a race for Ferrari, he might win another in the second half of the year.

“So he’s going from being a race-winning Ferrari driver to a team that’s at the tail-end.

“Do you think that’s hard for a driver to get their head around?”

Ex-Mercedes chief Vowles admitted: “You’ve summarised why the decision took so long. Yes.

“But I don’t see it as any different to the journey that I’ve taken.

“I went from the front of the grid to the back of the grid. A purposeful decision to do so.

“But the rewards you get, moving the team forward, is far greater than the odd win.

“That’s where I suggest Carlos’ head is at.

“He knows what he’s signed up to. He’s not a fool.”

Sainz has been in discussions with Williams since late last year, and eventually picked them ahead of Sauber and Alpine.

Vowles said: “The first time I met his family was in Abu Dhabi in 2023. He was signed with Ferrari.

“There was only one driver I’d dug into this level of detail with, and it was Carlos.

“That doesn’t mean I wasn’t talking to other drivers. I was. And, at different points. But it was lightweight compared to the discussion with Carlos.

“In ‘23 it was ‘here’s who I am, what I stand for, this is why I believe in the project, I ask you to seriously consider it’.”

But Vowles has admired Sainz for many years.

“I had an eye on him beforehand,” he said. “Carlos has beaten Lando, Charles, at times Max.

“I remember Toro Rosso thinking ‘Max is quick but don’t underestimate the other chap’.

“It started there. When he’s in the right frame of mind - in the second year at McLaren, how his performance evolved…

“When comfortable he is bloody quick! We didn’t know how quick Lando was, at the time. But I knew how quick George was, it inter-links.”

Finally, Williams have got their man.

Sainz has signed on to partner Alex Albon for the next two years at least.