Vowles reveals reason behind intense Sainz pursuit

Williams team principal James Vowles has revealed that the reason behind his intense pursuit of Carlos Sainz was because he felt the Ferrari star could "make the difference".

After months of speculation, it was announced the day after the Belgian Grand Prix that Sainz had signed a multi-year deal to join Williams next season. 

The Spaniard was first approached by Vowles last November in Abu Dhabi and remained the Williams boss' priority ever since. 

Vowles was very open to the media about his desire to sign Sainz, who knew ahead of the campaign that he would be leaving Ferrari following the 2025 signing of Lewis Hamilton.

It has not been a strong season for Williams who are dealing with an overweight car, with Vowles having used all his expertise to convince Sainz to look past this season's performances and focus on the outfit's bright future. 

"There's only one driver team I spoke to in Abu Dhabi last year, only one, and it was Carlos'," Vowles revealed to select media including RacingNews365. "Just to be super clear, I didn't spread bet. 

"I went for one driver that I thought would make the difference. I also thought for complete transparency that we wouldn't have the weight on the car. 

"You don't know the numbers, but we would have been in a point scoring position every weekend. I actually think it would have been a more difficult choice for him if Ferrari was more on the rocks and I didn't know that it would be.

"My point more was to position myself in the most sensible way possible for that."

Sainz always main target

Since Vowles' first conversation with Sainz last November, the Williams boss had not spoken to another driver over potentially partnering Alex Albon. 

That was until it appeared that Sainz would join Alpine, with Vowles having then informed the Spanish driver that he had approached others as a precaution.

Vowles believes in the Williams project and also in Sainz, which is why he often spoke about the 29-year-old being his main target to the media, even when it looked like the Grove-based team would miss out on the driver.

"I didn't call or contact anyone else," Vowles reiterated. "In fact, the only time I did was later in the programme where it became very clear that Carlos may not join us. 

"And at that point, I've got to make sure that I put my eggs in multiple baskets to cover it off. But he's aware of when I did that, and it was very late on in the process. 

"The reason why I did that, and it's the same with the public element of things is I strongly believe in what we're doing here. 

"I think all of you that know me well enough know that you can look me in the eyes and I'll give you an honest answer that I really do believe in what we're doing, the direction of travel, why it'll be successful. And I believe the same amount in Carlos as well."