James Vowles has detailed how a special moment at Williams’ factory following Carlos Sainz’s debut podium for the team at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix “meant the world” to him, with the team boss admitting that the reaction of the squad’s staff will “stay with me for the rest of my life”.
After qualifying in an impressive P2 for the race in Baku, Sainz lost a position to Mercedes’ George Russell but kept the other Silver Arrows car of Kimi Antonelli at bay to claim P3, marking Williams’ first rostrum since the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix.
The result left Vowles – who joined the Grove-based outfit as Team Principal at the start of 2023 – feeling “really proud” of Sainz and the whole team, with the Briton particularly moved to see how much the result meant to the employees back at the factory.
“I’m ecstatic for Carlos,” Vowles said during an appearance on F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast. “The pace has been there for a lot of the year, and dare I say he needed a result like this for the world to see that he is still the Carlos that deserves to be there, and that we’re fortunate as Williams to have him along by our side.
“And he earned it. He earned it in Qualifying and he earned it in the race as well. I’m really proud of Williams. I’m proud of Williams because it’s a team that was in the dark trenches of survival just a few years ago.
“The most it meant to me was when I was back in the factory, we put the trophy in reception, and I just came down randomly every half an hour, hour. And it was just queues of people just wanting the ability to touch it for a few seconds and have a photo with it.
“And that’s what meant the world to me; they’re individuals who’ve literally given up their life for Williams and for myself and for our journey, and it’s a tiny, tiny reward for them on the way back. It will stay with me for the rest of my life.”
While this achievement meant a great deal to Williams, Vowles’ aim is for the result to become the norm in future as the squad look to make their way back to the front of the grid.
“It is just one podium at this stage,” he explained. “And what I want is almost you to be bored by it, such that you’re not asking me, ‘How was it being on the podium?’ We’re not there yet. We’ve got a long, long way to go before there. It hasn’t relinquished any of the pressure going forward.
“My end journey is multiple championships at Williams. This is just a little tiny stepping stone on that journey together.
“The pressure for me is making sure we move forward in 2026, making sure the ‘27 car has significant amounts of developments we can’t put in place for ‘26, making sure the infrastructure we’re building, the machinery’s in place, etc.”
Vowles also reflected on Sainz’s reaction to the podium in Baku, saying of the Spaniard: “What I saw more was what I’m used to from Mercedes, which is a driver that was incredibly relaxed. While some may be nervous, for him it was just business as usual in that circumstance.
“I think his calmness very much spread across everyone as the result of it, because frankly, he has been there and done that before. He had belief in the car, belief we’re quick enough, and so that was a different Carlos.
“I don’t think that’s anything to do with the fact it’s a good result in what has been a somewhat difficult season for whatever reason. I think that’s just more, that is Carlos. He’s great when you put him in the position where he has a sniff at something special.”
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