Williams Formula 1 boss James Vowles has expressed his “surprise” that both Mercedes and Red Bull opted to overlook the side’s new signing Carlos Sainz for 2025.
Sainz made clear his target to acquire a seat with a team that could deliver a title-contending car since it was announced Lewis Hamilton would replace him at Ferrari.
However, Red Bull elected to give Sergio Perez a contract extension despite his ongoing troubles, while Mercedes looks set to promote protege Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
With his hopes of landing a top seat in the short term all but diminished, Sainz was made to weigh up concrete proposals from Alpine, Sauber/Audi and also Williams.
But the protracted saga regarding his 2025 destination came to an end on Monday as Williams announced that it had won the race to sign Sainz on a multi-term deal.
Vowles believes that McLaren and Ferrari improving upon the Spaniard’s arrival has been no coincidence as he praised his latest recruit’s relentless attention to detail.
Asked whether he was surprised Mercedes and Red Bull snubbed Sainz, Vowles told media including Motorsport Week: “Yes, is the short answer to it.
“Because I rate him as one of the top four drivers, if not, at times, the number two driver on the grid. Why wouldn’t you want that in your stable?
“Because my view of things is that fundamentally, competitors are getting closer and closer.
“So, the marginal difference that a driver can make, and I don’t just mean in performance terms, look at Carlos, look at every team he has been in.
“They have improved significantly. And I get why, after spending the last nine months talking to him at least weekly, if not daily in truth.
“Rachel, my partner, has been very confused as to our relationship together relative to mine with Carlos.
“But what I’ve realised with him is that he is a performance machine.
“He absolutely will do everything it takes within his power to not transform just himself, but the team around him as well at the same time.
“And that’s powerful. That’s worth more than what he can drive the car at. That’s worth that you move the team forward by the same amount.”
Williams’ reveal came prior to the news that Red Bull has opted to not replace the under-pressure Perez, who has accrued 28 points across the previous eight rounds.
With McLaren posing a serious threat to Red Bull’s lead in the Constructors’ Championship, Vowles has claimed he would’ve signed Sainz to partner Max Verstappen.
“So, when you’re in Red Bull’s position where you’ve got a Constructors’ Championship at risk, it’s always a hard decision. But yes, I would have Carlos alongside Max.”
Vowles has accepted that Mercedes is in a tougher predicament as its decision over who replaces Hamilton has come as its on-track competitiveness has improved.
“If you’re in Mercedes, it’s a hard choice,” he acknowledged.
“But I think they’ve swayed between not being competitive, in which case it makes sense to invest in the future, to being very competitive.
“Now, it’s a harder decision as to whether you invest in known entities or unknown. But that said, if Mercedes have made that decision, they have far more information than I do.
“It’s more than likely that they’re very confident with the direction that they’ll be travelling in. Whether that be Max or Kimi, I’m unsure.
“But my point is, they’re not fools. They’ve made this decision sensibly.
“And if Red Bull have decided to do this, again, there’s reasons behind it that I won’t be aware of, because they are multiple World Champions.
“So, they don’t make decisions lightly. But I was surprised to answer your question.”
