James Vowles reveals concerns Carlos Sainz had about Williams before signing 2025 contract

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Carlos Sainz has finally revealed that he plans to join Williams in 2025 after much speculation over his future in Formula 1.

His move to the Grove-based team is one of the more important moves on the grid, as Carlos Sainz was the driver that a lot of others were waiting on to make their next move.

The Spaniard reportedly had several offers on the table including a last-minute one from Alpine and from Sauber, who were offering him a lucrative deal in anticipation of their transition to Audi in 2026.

Sainz eventually went with Williams after the team showed promising form and proved they were willing to reinvest in their resources to get back to the front of the field.

Team principal James Vowles revealed some of the concerns that Sainz raised about joining Williams during their talks when speaking to the F1 Nation podcast.

James Vowles reveals Carlos Sainz concerns over joining Williams

When Sainz became a free agent he was one of the most popular drivers on the market having been one of the only to dethrone Max Verstappen during his run of victories at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix, and returning from appendicitis to win the Australian GP this year.

Vowles said he had to fight against ‘fierce competition’ to secure Sainz’s signature after the ‘whole pitlane’ wanted to sign him. He reveals one of the reasons why the talks took as long as they did before the Spaniard put pen to paper.

“His reasons were somewhat sensible. What he said is ‘For you it’s obvious, it’s Williams. But except in my shoes, I have one of the biggest OEMs in the world of which my father’s had success with.'” said Vowles.

“You can’t ignore that. You shouldn’t ignore that. I have a team that has won a race more recently than Williams, which is a true statement and has generally beaten Williams. You can’t ignore that either.

“We just spent a bit of time in each other’s shoes where I showed him a little bit more about why I’m confident Williams is on the right pathway back to the front.”

Carlos Sainz secures F1 future with Williams drive

The switch to Williams will be the first time he has made a career move that puts him in an inferior car to the one he is currently in at Ferrari, although Sainz knew this would be a possible outcome when it came to making a decision.

It is reported that Sainz is on a £8.5 million-a-year deal with Williams that contains a specific clause that could see him leave Williams if either Mercedes or Red Bull offer him a drive.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height

With Williams also a Mercedes customer team it changes the dynamic for 17-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who might likely be expected to perform out of the box if the Silver Arrows continues its upward trajectory.

For Sainz, it is an opportunity to help Williams grow and potentially show prospective teams his ability in inferior machinery as he attempts to revive his prospects of getting a top-class drive from 2026 onwards.