Williams will have the best combination of drivers, claims Vowles
Having recruited Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz for next year, Williams team boss James Vowles claims that the British outfit will have the "best combination of drivers" from 2025.
After Ferrari announced that it secured the services of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz was forced to look for a new team. Having joined the Scuderia in 2021, the Spaniard has proved multipe times how quick, talented and reliable he is, with his speed and dedication having seen him collect three F1 victories with the Maranello-based outfit.
Sainz took his time to decide over his next team. The Madrid-born driver had been linked with Williams, the future Audi team, Alpine and Mercedes, but he ultimately elected to join the Grove-based outfit to team up with Alexander Albon.
Williams team boss James Vowles insists that his squad will have the best combination of drivers given the fact that there will be no politics between them.
"You've upgraded the version number. Yes, but that's the whole point behind it. I mean, not just a good driver line-up. I think I have... the best combination or their best drivers on the grid.
"There's no politics between them. They're both incredibly fierce competitors but they develop the team. They are leaders at the same time and that will put pressure on the organisation. But that's the whole intent behind it. It's been many years since we've really had two drivers fighting at the front and you need that to reinvigorate the energy back into the team.
"When you've got two drivers fighting for the same millisecond, and I've been there quite a bit in my career, everything just shuffles upwards as a result of it. So, minute details around even just diff maps, how you get data out, how you use it, how quickly you get upgrades to the car, they migrate and change because you have a driving force behind it. So it's a good thing, not a bad thing."
Alex Albon will embark on his fourth season with Williams in 2025. Vowles thinks that the London-born Thai driver will extract even more performance as Sainz will set the bar higher than he used to be in recent seasons.
"I think with Alex, you haven't seen him fully challenged to the level where he will move forward. Like any elite athlete, you have to have someone that moves the bar beyond where you thought it was set in the sand, and then it pushes you forward again.
"And not in a dramatic way, without politics, but just, here's where performance is, let's go find it. And with Alex, you'll see a very different reinvigorated individual as the result of it. So I think you're going to see a better Alex as a result," concluded Vowles.
