Carlos Sainz says his early impressions of the key personnel at Williams have given him the same optimism about the team’s potential for future success as he had when he left McLaren.
Ferrari signed Sainz to replace Sebastian Vettel in 2021, the Spaniard leaving McLaren after it finished fourth and third in the constructors’ championship in his two seasons with the team. This year, McLaren is challenging for the title and has won races with both drivers, and Sainz says he foresaw that trajectory, and drew upon that experience when deciding to join Williams next season.
“Stability [at Williams was important], but also I took the decision around the Spa weekend, so it was late,” Sainz said. “But I’ve always had the feeling during all those negotiations, I always kept Williams in the back of my head as I always had that good feeling with James [Vowles] and the investment group Dorilton.
“I’ve learned over the years in Formula 1 to trust in my feeling about people. When I left McLaren in 2020 I felt like the team was moving forward and was going to be successful in the future, having spent time working with Zak Brown and Andrea Stella. When I left McLaren I said they might not be winning next year or the following year, but this team with these people are going to be winning soon.
“Four years later they’re performing at an incredibly high level. I had this feeling at that time and now I have this feeling about the people and the culture in Williams. I need to trust that feeling, and this is what I committed to.”
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Sainz singles out Vowles as particularly crucial to his decision, having been impressed by the team principal’s ideas for Williams moving forward.
“Obviously he’s the leader of the project and he has the vision and he shared that vision, and he convinced me,” said Sainz. “He did a very good job in that sense in convincing me and in sharing the vision he has and the project he has in mind with me. I think we are relatively similar characters in that we are both very analytical, very fair and open, and he convinced me, as simple as that.”
The 29-year-old says he is excited by the prospect of trying to help Williams move up the grid, and admits it is a weight off his shoulders to have his future resolved after months of uncertainty.
“I think it was important for me to take the decision before the summer break,” he said. “It’s been a very tough seven months of my career where I had to deal with everything that happened in January, in combination with having to deliver in a high-pressure environment in Ferrari, in combination with having to decide my future. At the same time as you talk to so many other teams, and analyzing and putting everything on the table at the same time as you’re competing.
“I gave myself the target to take the decision before the break, and when I took the decision I wanted to be 100% convinced. It’s why I gave myself plenty of time. I took the decision because Williams is the team that, from the beginning, I had very good feeling [about] and very good conversations with.
“They’re a team very committed to F1 with a very strong project, very strong leadership, and the will to bring back an historic Formula 1 team with the pedigree Williams has back to the front is something that motivates me. It motivated me when I went to McLaren, when I went to Ferrari when it was down the grid after a tough 2020, and it motivates me now to do a project like Williams. I cannot wait, and I think it’s going to be an interesting few years in my career.”