Williams boss James Vowles shares extraordinary length of time he’s been scouting Carlos Sainz

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Williams Racing may not be having a brilliant 2024 season, but the future looks very bright for the Grove-based team.

Team principal James Vowles knows that immediate success isn’t possible in Formula 1 and is setting Williams up to hopefully return to the front of the grid in the coming years.

After a frustrating 2023 season, this year has seen the team take a small step forward but the manufacturers around them take much bigger strides and their points tally of four after 14 race weekends is disappointing.

However, Williams managed to convince Alex Albon to extend his time with the team earlier into the season which was seen as a real coup.

The Thai driver has led Williams for years although it’s hard to know exactly how well he’s been driving as Logan Sargeant has had a difficult time.

The summer break then started in the best possible fashion for the team by confirming that after months of chasing their number one target in the driver’s market, Carlos Sainz would be joining from Ferrari.

Speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast, Vowles has shared just how long he’s been scouting the Spanish driver.

Sainz has been on his radar for a long time but was unlikely to have thought he would become available to Williams at this moment in time.

It’s up to the team to deliver a car in 2025 and when the new regulations are introduced in 2026 that matches Sainz and Albon’s ambitions.

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

James Vowles shares how long he’s been watching new Williams driver Carlos Sainz

Journalist Tom Clarkson asked Vowles: “James, what triggered those first conversations? Was it that very clever victory in Singapore? Or had you had an eye on him before that?”

Vowles replied: “I had an eye on him beforehand. I believe Carlos has improved every year. You go back through his history. He’s beaten Lando. He’s beaten Charles. He’s beaten at times, Max.

“So, I remember way back in the days when he was in Toro Rosso against Max and looked at the two of them and went, yeah, Max is quick, but don’t underestimate the other chap next to him. I’m really impressed with how he’s holding up and it started there.

“That was the first point I watched him. When he’s in the right state of mind, that’s McLaren for me. And in the second year of Lando, I forget the first year because as far as I go, Lando was basically new to it all.

“But in the second year, and then watch how his performance evolved at that point.

“That’s when I started to see an individual that when he’s comfortable, he’s bloody quick because perhaps the world didn’t realize how quick Lando was at the time.”

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Williams Racing from team principal to Mercedes relationship

James Vowles shares what concerns Carlos Sainz had before signing for Williams

The length of time it took Sainz to commit to Williams highlights what a difficult decision it was for him to choose his next team.

Sainz’s camp was disappointed that Mercedes didn’t make an approach for 2025 and he was still waiting to see if there would be any movement at Red Bull.

Vowles has shared what concerns Sainz had before putting pen to paper at Williams which were legitimate.

The 29-year-old will have to adapt to racing for one of the biggest teams on the grid with aspirations of winning races and championships to being happy if they can regularly score points.

Sainz will hope that Williams can move up the pecking order on the grid, particularly in 2026 when the Mercedes power unit is expected to be very important, but there are no guarantees that improvements are coming.