Carlos Sainz is helping James Vowles assemble a ‘dream team’ behind the scenes after joining Williams

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Carlos Sainz has revealed how he has been helping Williams improve its internal infrastructure in a bid to return the British constructor to their glory days.

Sainz signed for Williams ahead of the 2025 season following the announcement that Lewis Hamilton would be taking his seat at Ferrari to partner Charles Leclerc.

In the midst of a tricky debut season with the Prancing Horse, Ferrari has been told to give Sainz another shot if the seven-time world champion decides to call it quits at the end of his contract in 2026.

However, the Spaniard may be happy where he is after seeing Hamilton’s struggles in getting to grips with the SF-25.

Sainz has a good relationship with his Williams teammate Alex Albon, with the 30-year-old previously stated that he is able to be more ‘honest’ with Albon than any other teammate he has had in F1.

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Carlos Sainz requested James Vowles to invest in a driver coach ahead of his arrival at Williams

Speaking in an interview with Racer, Sainz touched upon how he is aiding James Vowles in realising the team principal’s vision of putting Williams back on top of the F1 grid, akin to their golden age of the 1980s and 1990s.

Through his previous experience of working with one at Ferrari, Sainz’s first request was for the team to appoint a driver coach to help the drivers understand how they can unlock the most out of themselves and the Williams car.

“This was talked about well before I arrived, well before we even did a race weekend. I just know the level that a Formula 1 team needs to operate to be an even more competitive team, like Ferrari, for example.

“I just came in with a few ideas, a few things that I like, and I can cherry-pick from the four or five teams that I’ve been to in Formula 1,” Sainz said.

“And if I would have to create a dream team, or a dream way of how I think a team should operate and the structure that the team needs and the way we communicate as a team, I just vocalise that to James and the top-level management of the team:

“‘Look, I feel these are fundamentals that we need in a Formula 1 team if we want to be world champions in the future.’

“So let’s start in ’25 with a driver coach, and with so many other things that I don’t think I have time to stop here to mention.”

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Williams are enjoying their best season in Formula 1 since 2017

The changes that Sainz has brought to the team have clearly worked, as the Grove-based outfit are currently on course to beat their highest points tally in F1 since 2017.

With Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll at the wheel, the team managed to finish fifth in the constructors’ championship, amassing a total of 83 points over the 20-round season.

Despite the season being their best start to an F1 campaign for 10 years, Vowles recently highlighted some ‘painful’ moments from the season where the team have dropped points. Williams suffered a double DNF at the Austrian Grand Prix, with Carlos Sainz not even making it out of the pit lane.

They’re in a bit of a difficult position for the remaining races after the conclusion of the summer break. Recent results haven’t been as lucrative in terms of points scored, largely down to the fact that Williams abandoned development of their 2026 F1 car earlier than that of their midfield rivals.