‘This will stay with me forever’ – Vowles heaps praise on Sainz for delivering ‘extraordinary’ Williams podium in Baku

James Vowles expressed his pride and satisfaction after achieving a maiden podium finish as team boss of Williams through Carlos Sainz’s determined drive to third place in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Sainz made the most of tricky conditions in Qualifying at the Baku City Circuit to put his car a remarkable second on the grid for Sunday’s race, behind only Red Bull’s reigning four-time World Champion Max Verstappen.

After maintaining his position at the start, Sainz found himself in a battle with Mercedes drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli for the final spots on the podium as the race developed – and while he lost out to the Briton, he kept the Italian rookie behind.

Not only did it mark a personal breakthrough for Sainz after joining Williams from Ferrari over the winter, but it also returned the Grove-based outfit to the rostrum for the first time since 2021 – prior to Vowles’ arrival.

Asked to sum the day up on F1 TV’s post-race show, former Mercedes strategy chief Vowles said: “Extraordinary. I’ve had the pleasure of having many podiums in my career, and this one will stay with me forever. It means a huge amount to me… from where the team was, on our journey to where we’re going.

“Carlos earned it today. This wasn’t luck, this was him driving his socks off all weekend.”

After plenty of misfortune and incidents so far this season, which limited him to 16 points from 16 rounds, Sainz bagged 15 in one go with his Baku podium – and Vowles expects there to be a positive knock-on effect for both driver and team.

“I’ve wanted him to have a great result like this since the beginning of the year,” Vowles continued. “You could see it was on the cards, it just never came together for one reason or another.

“This suddenly builds your confidence and momentum and allows it you to step forward – that’s what I wanted for Carlos.

“I think he definitely needed it. We all needed it as a team, though. It just shows to the world that this is absolutely where we are and this is the journey we’re on together.

“For Carlos, it’s fundamentally, I think, ratification for the decisions he took a year ago.”

Vowles also shared a few words on Alex Albon, who endured a difficult weekend via a crash early in Qualifying and a penalty in the race for clashing with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, but still joined the rest of the Williams crew for their podium celebrations.

“This is what I love about this team, it’s a team in exactly that way,” said Vowles. “Before I knew it, Alex had literally jumped out of the car and ended up just behind me! He wants this team to be successful, and he was there to celebrate by our side.”

Sainz’s podium boosts Williams’ points tally for the campaign to 101, strengthening their grip on fifth place in the Teams’ Championship – nearest rivals Racing Bulls sitting 29 points back.