James Vowles Admits He Feared Losing Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon to Rivals Before Their Williams Recommitment

• Williams team principal James Vowles has admitted he was concerned about losing Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon to rival teams for 2027 after a difficult start to Formula 1’s new regulations
• Sainz and Albon have both signed contract extensions with Williams this week, with their previous deals set to expire at the end of the year
• Vowles says retaining both drivers has already lifted the mood inside the factory as the team works to turn its season around

James Vowles has admitted he feared losing Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon to rival teams for 2027, after Williams endured a difficult start to Formula 1’s new regulation cycle. Both drivers signed contract extensions with the team this week, with their previous deals set to run out at the end of the year.

Albon, who joined Williams in 2022, committed to a single year in 2027. Sainz, who joined the team from Ferrari last year, signed a multi-year deal.

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A Season That Fell Short of the Plan

Vowles had sold both drivers on the idea that Williams, which finished fifth in last year’s constructors’ championship, could make a leap forward under this year’s new technical regulations. That did not happen the way he had planned. The team faced delays in the production of its car and arrived at the first pre-season test with a chassis that was both overweight and underperforming, leaving it short of pace in the opening half of the season.

Albon has scored just five points in the opening 11 rounds of the season, and Williams sits third from bottom in the constructors’ championship on 11 points, though it runs the Mercedes power unit that has fired the Silver Arrows to a commanding lead at the top of the standings.

Speaking at the Dutch Grand Prix on Friday, Vowles addressed the impact that slow start had on his contract talks with his two drivers directly.

“I was concerned about losing both because they are world championship-material drivers that deserve the opportunity to be fighting for podiums or more, and we haven’t delivered that,” Vowles said.

Moving in the Wrong Direction

Vowles explained that the shortfall this year came as a surprise to everyone at the team, not just the two men driving the cars.

“And more than that, we had a scope of where we were moving to. I think there’s no doubt if you look to the outside world over the last few years, we’ve been slowly stepping forward, with last year being a blip that I think was too positive from where we were, but a step in the right direction,” Vowles said.

“So for us to move backwards this year isn’t just a surprise to the drivers, it’s a surprise to everyone. And that will always create the risk that we could lose them.”

Albon’s Long Road Back

Albon signed his extension first, committing to a further year with Williams through to the end of 2027. His previous deal had been set to expire at the end of this season.

“Since joining Atlassian Williams F1 Team in 2022, the transformation this team has made is difficult to put into words,” Albon said. “One tough year doesn’t tell the full picture, and it only gives me more motivation to keep building and pushing together with the factory and our fans to achieve great things.”

“Our story is not over yet, so my full focus now is on doing whatever it takes to get us back up the grid.”

The 2027 season will be Albon’s sixth with Williams and eighth in Formula 1. He became the first driver to reach 100 races for the team at the final round before the summer break in Hungary, having earlier this season passed Nigel Mansell’s record of 95 races for Williams. His career began at Toro Rosso in 2019 before a mid-season promotion to Red Bull, where he was let go at the end of 2020 after struggling alongside Max Verstappen. He spent 2021 without a seat before joining Williams in 2022, and his best season for the team came last year, when he finished eighth in the championship as Williams took fifth in the constructors’ standings.

“I am delighted that Alex and Atlassian Williams F1 Team are continuing our extraordinary journey together,” Vowles said. “Alex has been a leader of this transformation project since day one and we have plenty of unfinished business that we are determined to achieve.”

“Alex is one of the best drivers on the grid and knows better than anyone the enormous improvements we have made in recent years, re-signing him shows the belief we both have in the direction we are heading.”

Sainz Commits Beyond 2027

Sainz signed his own extension a day after Albon, agreeing a multi-year deal that ties him to Williams beyond 2027. The 31-year-old Spaniard had expressed doubt over his future with the team amid a second campaign that failed to deliver the strong results of 2025, making his decision to commit long term something of a surprise.

A Williams statement said: “Atlassian Williams F1 Team today announces that Carlos Sainz has agreed a new multi-year contract with the team, in a show of faith in Williams’ long-term project to compete at the front of the F1 grid.”

“The four-time race-winner joined Williams in 2025 and has played an instrumental role in driving forward the team’s rebuild, combining a detailed engineering approach with raw speed, smooth racecraft and a relentless determination to improve performance in every area.”

Sainz’s arrival at Williams last year was a coup for Vowles, following a contest for his services after he was let go by Ferrari to make way for Lewis Hamilton. He had performed impressively across four seasons with Ferrari, as he had done in a two-year spell at McLaren before that, establishing himself as one of the sport’s top drivers.

“I’m thrilled to announce my continued journey with the Atlassian Williams F1 Team family!” Sainz said. “I truly believe in the people that form this team, both at the factory and at the racetracks, and the investments and hard work that are happening in the background.”

“We have what it takes to turn this around together. I’m as committed as I was on day one to helping get Williams back to where it belongs, and I look forward to creating more memories with the team.”

After a challenging start adjusting to the car, Sainz finished the 2025 season strongly, with podiums in Azerbaijan and Qatar that helped Williams to a comfortable fifth place in the constructors’ championship. That form raised hopes Williams could start strongly under this year’s new regulations, hopes that have not been realised so far.

“From the moment he joined, Carlos’ talent behind the steering wheel and dedication back at the factory have been extremely valuable for this project, working day in, day out with his engineers to find every millisecond,” Vowles said.

“He is a leader of this team, and I’m thrilled that he can see what’s possible as we continue to rebuild it. It’s not just his racecraft and speed that stand out, but the work he does behind the scenes in the pursuit of high performance. Carlos shares the belief and ambition we have at Atlassian Williams F1 Team and is pushing every day to deliver it.”

“Along with Alex, I truly believe we have one of the strongest line-ups on the grid, and a team capable of fighting for every ounce of performance together.”

Standing By the Team

Back at Zandvoort on Friday, Vowles said the most important thing to him was how Sainz and Albon responded when the season went wrong.

“What I’m thankful for is the moment we had problems, they stood by our side. It wasn’t finger pointing, it was actually ‘tell me what I can do’ and they both came into the factory, spoke to the whole organisation and gave them a lift,” Vowles said.

“Carlos did the same and Alex did the same this week once they re-signed, they wanted to make sure that they were here with the team. They want this to be a part of the team and the turnaround of this organisation and I’m thankful for that.”

“But it’s also an indication of what we’ve shown them in the back end of what’s happened and what we’re doing about it.”

A Long Term Endorsement

Vowles said the decision by both drivers to commit their futures to Williams should be read as a vote of confidence in the direction of the team, though he could not reveal everything driving that confidence.

“I can’t tell you everything that’s going on behind the scenes but I can tell them,” Vowles added. “And if they are re-signing it will give you an indication that there’s a lot of change ongoing and they believe in what the future looks like and that belief is incredibly important whether it’s for team members or for anyone in the outside world.”

Vowles said the re-signings had already changed the mood at the factory this week, giving staff renewed belief in the project after a tough run of results.

“That consistency is important because the team is really maturing and changing and as much as you can keep consistent, especially in your driver line up, it becomes desperately important in order to keep building on that,” Vowles said.

“Probably the best way to summarise it to you is the factory, there was a weight lifted off it this week as the result of it and I’ve seen them move forward at a much faster pace as a result so the belief is real and tangible.”

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Written by

Jack Renn

Jack Renn is an editor at F1 Chronicle and a veteran motorsport journalist with 25 years of experience covering Formula 1 and international motorsport. A member of the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive (AIPS), the global body representing accredited sports journalists, Jack has spent his career reporting from paddocks and press rooms across the F1 calendar. His work spans race analysis, technical insight, and in-depth features, giving readers authoritative coverage grounded in decades of firsthand experience at the highest level of the sport.

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