Williams team principal James Vowles said that shared values between the British outfit and Carlos Sainz's support team...
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Williams team principal James Vowles said that shared values between the British outfit and Carlos Sainz's support team were crucial in pulling off the deal that will see the current Ferrari driver move to Grove next year.
Williams announced at the start of the week that they had won a protracted battle to secure the Spaniard's services on a multi-year deal, pipping intense interest from the likes of Audi and Alpine.
Sainz had been left looking for a new race seat for 2025 ever since the shock announcement that Lewis Hamilton would move from Mercedes to race alongside Charles Leclerc at Maranello next season.
Vowles predicted that Sainz' relentless competitiveness would be a boon to Williams when put alongside existing driver Alex Albon, but said that this was only one aspect of the what had made the deal so appealing.
“If you’re going to go for an individual who’s going to make the difference, I’m not just focused on how quick he is in the car,” Vowles told the media at this week, before the start of the summer break.
“I’m focused on how he is as a personality," Vowles continued by way of explanation. "This also includes how his entourage is which includes Caco, his manager, and Carlos, his father.
“His father is as performance-driven as Junior," Vowles continued. "He’s an incredible character. The three of them together come as a package, and that’s what we need here in Williams.
"The fit is absolutely perfect, and those are the exact words I told them from the very beginning to the very end of this journey.”
Vowles revealed that he had been working on selling Sainz his vision for the future of Williams as long ago as last December, even before the shock news about Hamilton's move was known.
“He and I have spent some evenings in various hotel locations, including his room, where we’ve had some of the best chats I’ve had because he’s just this fiery, performance-filled entity.
“I wish we could have sort of documented it and had a little camera and you would have seen it, it was great," he said. “It’s just brilliant. I wish you could be a fly on the wall to observe it."
Vowles said that Sainz had been able to articulate the various competing pitches for his services: "'Here are all the positives that you can’t see because you wear a Williams shirt, of all of these other entities.'
"He’s been pretty consistent in his messaging back," Vowles acknowledged. “And my job back in return is to say here are the positives of Williams and here’s the difference. I’ve never changed on what those positives are.
"I’ve done it in a way that is not putting down other entities. I don’t believe that’s correct or right to do so," he added. “What he’s been doing in turn is seeing how some of those positives maybe don’t exist elsewhere.
"That’s probably the best way I can put it to you.”
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