Tag Archives: Max Verstappen

September 13, 2024 · 12:34 pm

Horner: Abu Dhabi rookie sprint event “a fantastic opportunity”

Horner is fully behind the Abu Dhabi rookie sprint

Red Bull boss Christian Horner says that the planned Abu Dhabi Formula 1 rookie sprint event will be a “fantastic opportunity” for young drivers.

As previously reported the idea is to have a short qualifying session followed by a sprint race at Yas Marina on the Tuesday after the season finale.

One car from each team will take part with a rookie driver, defined as someone who hasn’t started more than two races.

The event will give already confirmed 2025 race drivers Kimi Antonelli, Jack Doohan and Oliver Bearman a chance to run some extra mileage.

Bearman will still be eligible assuming he doesn’t make a third F1 start between this weekend’s Azerbaijan GP and the end of the season.

In contrast Franco Colapinto and Liam Lawson won’t be able to take part.

Other teams can run drivers who otherwise would be unlikely to have a chance race an F1 car in the foreseeable future, with Red Bull likely to field Isack Hadjar and Ayumu Iwasa in the RBR and VCARB cars.

First discussed seriously by the F1 Commission a couple of months ago the event took a step closer to becoming a reality after a meeting of team managers in the sporting advisory commission in Geneva last week.

The gathering discussed specific rules for the event any potential anomalies that would need to be addressed.

Although as a sprint there will be no scheduled stops the idea of not having full pit crews on hand as a cost-saving exercise is unlikely to happen, in case anyone has to stop with a puncture or wing damage.

“It’s something that I tabled at the last couple of F1 Commissions,” said Horner when asked about the event by this writer.

“I think it’s great for the young drivers. And I think that the problem with some of the rookie tests is they all get used for testing, you never know are they running on 50 kilos, 70 kilos, 30 kilos of fuel? What engine mode are they going? You don’t really know.

“You don’t know how the opposition are doing. So I think this as a non-championship race for the junior drivers, I think it’s fantastic opportunity.

“It comes at the end of a busy season, but opposed to just running around burning fuel and tyres and only the teams that are running those drivers knowing whether they’re doing a good job or not, to give potentially 10 drivers or 10 rookies the opportunity of jumping in the current cars and having the equivalent of a sprint race, I think it’s fantastic, and I think it’ll be a really popular event.”

Horner said that the challenges associated with making the event happen at short notice will be overcome.

“It’s like all things in life. If you want it to happen, you make it happen,” he said. “And I think there was a clear directive to say, ‘Come on, let’s get the job done for this year.’

“And so obviously that puts pressure on the sporting working groups and the various team managers to work with the FIA to come up with a set of regulations, but I think mainly adopting sprint regs and so on, it’s eminently doable.

“Doesn’t need to be over-complicated. I think it’s just going to be a single car from each team, rather than two cars. And effectively you’re just using the mileage in a different way, as opposed to just performing during a test day.

“So I think the event will take place all in one day, so qualifying, and then the equivalent of a sprint race. So it comes at the end of a long season, but I think it’ll be a great thing. It’s a great opportunity for young drivers, and we’re fully supportive of it.”

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September 13, 2024 · 11:03 am

Red Bull “licked our wounds” before bringing RB20 floor update

Red Bull has a “subtle” floor change for Baku

Red Bull has brought a small floor revision for the RB20 to the Azerbaijan GP as the first step of its reaction to a disappointing Italian GP.

Max Verstappen qualified seventh and finished sixth at Monza, complaining about the tricky balance of the car, and calling it a “monster”.

Verstappen said on Thursday that lessons had been learned, while conceding that it would take time for the results to work their way through the system.

The initial floor mod did make it in time for Baku, with the team’s official submission to the FIA noting that there were “changes applied to improve the pressure gradients along the floor to improve the flow locally and downstream in all conditions.”

RBR chief engineer Paul Monaghan noted that the team had “licked our wounds” as it tried to get to the bottom of the issues.

“We’re not going to sit still from his comments or our performance in Monza and do nothing to bring here and hope,” he said when asked by this writer about Verstappen’s comments about lessons being learned.

“There are many ways to address the car’s behaviour from Monza, and it touches all the aspects of the car, not just whether we revise a floor geometry or a wing geometry.

“So it would be naive of us to think that we can just leave it. So we’ve licked our wounds, learned our lessons. The proof in the pudding will be, obviously Sunday, but we’ve tried to bring changes to the car, and make it better.

“And we don’t want to watch Monza again. It wasn’t the most pleasant event for us, so we’d like to improve relative for our position.”

He added: “We’ve got to look at why has the car been better prior to Zandvoort and Monza? Was it us? Was it our opposition? Is it combination of the two?

“I think we have to look upon ourselves, because we can’t influence what our opposition does, and try to make our car better, and that’s what we’re trying to do.

“It’s all about putting together the package that Max can drive, feels confident in. Look at the first few races of the season, ‘Oh, you’re not going to get caught.’

“And here we are in a bit of a fight. So between Max and Checo and the whole team, not just what you see here, the question is can we put together a car that can defend the titles?”

Monaghan indicated that the Baku revision is a first step given the time constraints, and that there’s more to come in Singapore next weekend.

“The lessons are kind of ongoing, and the immediate reaction tends to be at the later races,” he said. “So it’s a testament to everybody that we got it here. A lot of hard work, and that hard work will continue. Singapore’s only a week away.

“So it that will be potentially another evolution for us. The scale of the update kind of determines the phase lag in there.

“So if we’ve managed to do it for this race, it’s not the biggest one we’ll ever undertake in terms of geometry change. It’s subtle. Could the effect be good? Yes. And I think the proof in the pudding will be on Sunday afternoon.”

The unusual three week gap after Singapore gives the team time to make bigger changes to Austin, but Monaghan conceded that the sprint format means it won’t be the deail place to introduce updates.

“It gives us the freedom to potentially do more,” he said of the gap. “The disciplined approach is to say is it valuable enough to spend the money to do it, to take it to Austin?

“And don’t forget, Austin’s a sprint race, so you’re going to roll the dice in P1 and then, okay, yes, no, indifferent? Keep it, not keep it?

“But that then leaves us potentially with few of any one piece. So your choices for Austin are team dependent, and somewhat confidence dependent.”

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September 13, 2024 · 10:09 am

Hamilton: Newey decision “doesn’t change anything” on Ferrari move

Hamilton won’t get to work with Newey after all

Lewis Hamilton says that Adrian Newey’s decision to join Aston Martin “doesn’t change anything” in terms of his move to Ferrari in 2025.

Hamilton signed for the Italian team long before Newey’s departure from Red Bull became official and he became a free agent.

However his name was quickly associated with Maranello, and for a while it appeared that Fred Vasseur had convinced him to join, potentially making Hamilton’s move look perfectly timed.

However in the end Newey opted to stay in the UK and join Aston, swayed in part by the opportunity to become a shareholder.

Asked if he was disappointed by the news Hamilton insisted that he was not.

“Honestly, no,” he said. “Whilst I mentioned before that it would be an honour to work with Adrian, I’ve been privileged to work with two championship-winning teams that didn’t have Adrian, for example.

“And I think probably any team would have been happy to have had him. But at the end of the day, you have to do what was best for him.

“It doesn’t change anything for me or my goal or my focus with the next move. So I still believe 100% that there’s lots that we can do.”

Hamilton also conceded recently that his impending departure from Mercedes is starting to hit home, having noted after Monza that it was his last race working from his room in the team’s Europe-based hospitality building.

“I couldn’t have predicted the emotional rollercoasters I’ve had already this year,” he said when asked by this writer about the subject.

“It’s definitely going to be tough, very, very difficult. I think just after the race, I was sitting in my room and after the debrief, and it literally just dawned on me. I was like, oh my god, this is our last European race, and that place had been home to such a great working environment.

“It wasn’t actually that room the whole 12 years, because we had an older motorhome in the first one or two I think it was but, but still, that was my space, and to be able to have a such an enjoyable environment, to be able to work in, it’s definitely going to be really missed.

“So I was more emotional about that than I was about the weekend, or the race! I’m just trying to be really present with the team, really try to be fully engaged in conversations. And yeah, don’t want to forget it.”

Hamilton also noted that the current competitiveness of the field is positive for F1.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “This is how it should be. I think that’s ultimately probably the goal when they set the rules. But it never works out that way.

“So it’s great that we’re in that phase with McLaren have come, have had a great rise out of nowhere, you see the Ferrari win in the last race, and us before that.

“So hopefully, these next eight races, or whatever is left, that hopefully you’ll see something more like that, and it stays consistent, I hope.”

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September 12, 2024 · 3:47 pm

Verstappen: Monza helped Red Bull to understand weaknesses of “monster” RB20

Verstappen says that Red Bull understands the issues of the RB20

Max Verstappen says that Red Bull is starting to understand more about the weaknesses of the difficult RB20 – but he admits that solving its issues will take time.

Verstappen called the car a “monster” after a difficult Italian GP that saw him qualify seventh and finish sixth, allowing Lando Norris to put a dent in his championship lead.

The Dutchman says that the Monza weekend provided useful lessons to the team about the car.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” he said. “But I do think that in a way Monza was positive to learn more about the car, and now it just takes time to make the car better basically, and understand our weaknesses. 

“I think we did. Now it’s about just trying to find solutions for it. I also know that it’s not coming within one or two weeks, from when you understand your problems.

“But yeah, I hope that from now onwards we could just look ahead and try to be better, not like a monster.”

After the Italian race Verstappen said that the drivers’ championship was now unrealistic for him.

Asked by this writer if he stuck with that view he said: “If we perform like Monza, it’s not realistic. So we definitely need to be better than what we have been delivering lately. We know that.”

He added: “I also know that we can do a better job in general, and if we understand our problems, then, yeah, if we can find a better balance with the car, then actually we’ll be more competitive. And if more competitive is enough, I don’t know.”

Verstappen acknowledged that Baku might be more suited to the RB20 despite its problems.

“Yeah, it’s a completely different track. So for sure, you have different kind of limitations, potentially, but we’ll see throughout the weekend.”

Verstappen downplayed the impact of Adrian Newey stepping back from the frontline duty earlier this year on the car’s form.

“I wouldn’t say it’s just that,” he noted. “Of course, when it was announced, that’s where it started to go a little bit wrong for us. But I think it already started to go wrong for us a long time before, but we didn’t really see that at the time.

“So I personally don’t think it’s related. That is not to be of course negative towards Adrian or whatever, I definitely don’t see it as something that is related, but it’s something that crept in over time.”

Regarding Christian Horner’s suggestion that the problems began in 2023 he said: “The car last year was quite different to this year. This one was always difficult.

“But of course, there are things that you develop over a period of time that add up to it. To say a specific race, I don’t know, but it’s been a period of time that it’s been going on.”

Verstappen said he had no concerns about McLaren team orders potentially improving Norris’s chances of eating into his championship lead.

“I’m not disappointed,” he said. “At the end of the day of course, they do what they want. That’s not my problem. I have my own problems at the moment.

“So yeah, of course, from Oscar’s side, he’s closer to Lando than Lando is to me in the championship, but it’s something that they have to deal with.”

“They’ve never really been that far apart anyway in the championship as well. And also from Oscar’s side,  you come in as a number one driver, both of them. I don’t think Oscar is the type of driver that needs to be labelled as number two anyway.”

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September 12, 2024 · 3:15 pm

Norris “thankful” for McLaren call on team orders for Baku

Piastri has said he’ll help Norris if asked to do so

Lando Norris is “thankful” for a call by McLaren on team orders that will see Oscar Piastri support his title campaign if it is necessary to ask the Australian to help.

The decision was made after internal discussions at McLaren since the Italian GP, where Piastri passed Norris on the first lap and put him in a position where he then lost second place to Charles Leclerc.

Team boss Andrea Stella says that the Monza move was detrimental to the overall situation of the team, and he wants to avoid a repeat.

Piastri has also said he’s willing to mover over if he’s asked to do so, although Norris is coy about accepting such help.

“I mean, good, thankful,” said Norris when asked about the call. “How do I say it? I mean, he’s still fighting for his own racing.

“He’s still going out and doing the doing his stuff. And it could be that there’s no time this year that he needs to help me.

“It’s more that I’ve got Oscar’s help when needs be. But he’s still going out with the intent of every session of fighting for himself and going to do his job.”

Norris insisted that he doesn’t want Piastri to have to hand over a race victory: “No. Probably for lower positions. But if he’s fought for a win and he’s deserving of a win, then he deserves to win.”

He said that he doesn’t want a win the championship based on help from Piastri, and that if a decision in his team mate’s favour means he loses at the final round, he will have to deal with it.

“I’m sure it will hurt,” he said. “But I’m also here to race, and if a driver is doing better than me, and outperforming, he’s just doing a better job. So I wouldn’t want to take that away from someone. And I also don’t want to be given a championship.

“Yes, it would be great to have a championship, and short term, you’d feel amazing, but I don’t think you’d be proud of that in the long run. And that’s not something I want.

“That’s not how I want to win a championship. I want to win it by fighting against Max, by beating Max, beating my competitors, and proving that I’m the best on track. And that’s how I want to win.”

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September 10, 2024 · 12:22 pm

Stroll: Newey “has the passion and desire to win”

Lawrence Stroll has total faith in Newey

Aston Martin Formula 1 owner says that Adrian Newey is “a winner” and is the key piece of the puzzle in improving the team’s fortunes.

Stroll said he first approached Newey two years ago, and his interest ramped up as soon as it became public that he was on the market.

Newey will start work at the team on March 1 after completing his Red Bull gardening leave.

“Adrian arguably is the greatest in the world at what he does,” said Stroll. “There’s nobody who’s come close to winning as many World Championships.

“He’s a gentleman, he’s a winner, he’s a competitor, and he has the passion and desire to win, as do I, and most of the people in this building.

“We started on a journey six years ago with this team, on similar ground, much smaller premises, a much smaller building, and that’s really when the journey had started.

“We’ve put together a fantastic management team. And building this premises was really showing our real intent. First was hiring the people, but to make this level of investment, to build a premises like this, that was non-existent before, in F1, the first of its sort. It’s so grand, but it’s so special, we can build 100% of the car here.

“We’re going to have the first, greatest, newest wind tunnel built in over 20 years. That’s a huge tool to make the car go faster, ultimately. So putting all that in place, the people, the premises, and then really looking for our technical leader.

“And I had been trying to speak to Adrian for a couple of years. And I believe when things are meant to be, they happen.

“I believe he shared my passion, intent and vision. And there really is no other F1 team that is poised for the future as we are. So I can’t be more excited to have Adrian on board.”

Expanding on Newey’s role he said: “As I mentioned, we have a strong team, some of which Adrian has already worked with.

“Adrian is going to be the managing technical partner of that team, so on a day-to-day basis, he’ll be here, full commitment, full time committed to F1, giving leadership and direction to his team.”

He added: “Adrian is key, key, key, and the biggest part of the puzzle, certainly from a technical point of view, from a technical leadership point of view. He will be leading the team, and I think that will have a trickle-down effect throughout the whole organisation.”

Stroll made it clear that the focus will be in 2026, with Newey joining in time to make a difference heading into the new rules set.

“We had a slight distraction moving into this building,” he said. “We had a very strong start to 2023 as you know, the first nine races were great. These ground effect cars are rather complex, and obviously we went in the different or clearly appears now a wrong direction. We’re trying to find our way back.

“We’re currently fifth in the championship, in all honesty, for a team like us, with just moving into this building, with not having all our tools in place, without having a true, big technical leader as Adrian – I would like to be in a better space, don’t get me wrong, but our focus really lies on doing a better car for ’25 but really, most importantly, we’ll be focusing most of our energy next year on ’26.

“Re-set, new rules, new power. unit building is up and running, wind tunnel is running. So that’s really going to be our focus.”

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September 10, 2024 · 11:10 am

Newey: Aston Martin became “a very natural choice”

Newey will officially start work at Silverstone on March 1

Adrian Newey says joining Aston Martin became “a very natural choice” after talking to owner Lawrence Stroll and seeing the team’s new facility at Silverstone.

Newey will officially start at the team on March 1 in the role of technical managing partner, with overall technical control of the organisation.

He is also a shareholder and partner of Stroll in the project.

“I think I felt as if I needed a new challenge,” Newey said of his departure from Red Bull. “And so kind of towards the end of April, I decided I needed to do something different.

“I spent lots of time with Mandy, my wife, kind of discussing, ‘Okay, what’s next? Do we go off and sail around the world? Do I do something different, America’s Cup, or whatever?’ So we took a bit of time out,

“And I felt I’ve been lucky enough to have achieved what I aspired to from the age of 10 or 12, which was simply to be a designer – I don’t think I knew the word engineer – in motor racing, I can honestly say, everything else has been a bonus, having sort of achieved that straight out of university.

“I never, of course, expected anything like what I’ve been lucky enough to be involved with. But you have to be honest with yourself, you have to keep yourself fresh. And so I felt I needed a new challenge. And so took a bit of time off.”

Newey says Stroll was quick to make his interest in his services clear.

“Lawrence and I have known each other off and on over the years,” he said. “We often bump into each other in the [hotel] gym, particularly at the Middle East and Far East races.

“As I announced to everybody that I would be departing the old team I was very flattered to have a lot of approaches from various teams, but really, Lawrence’s passion and commitment and enthusiasm is very endearing. It’s very persuasive.

“The reality is, if you go back 20 years what we now call team principals were actually the owners of the teams, Frank Williams, Ron Dennis, Eddie Jordan, etc, etc.

“In this modern era Lawrence is actually unique in being the only properly active team owner. And I think that is a different feeling when you have somebody like Lawrence involved like that, it’s back to the old school model.

“And to have the chance to be a shareholder and a partner is something that hasn’t been offered to me before. So it’s a slightly different slant. It’s one I’m very much looking forward to. It became a very natural choice.”

Newey acknowledged that the new Aston Martin facility at Silverstone played a key role in persuading him to join the team.

“I think what Lawrence and Martin [Whitmarsh] have built here, these facilities are just stunning,” he said. “It’s not an easy thing to do, to build a brand new factory in a green field site and have a really nice, warm, creative feel to it.

“Because, after all, that’s what we’re here for, to try to be creative and to come up with good solutions, and particularly with good communication between everybody that works here. And I’ve seen some new buildings that haven’t quite fulfilled that, but this one is has a great feel.

“The proportions are right. It has all the facilities. I’m so looking forward to starting, to getting to know everybody here, to work with them, and go from there.”

Asked what his role will be he said: “Any F1 team is the same, we have three principal departments, which is aerodynamics, mechanical design and vehicle performance or vehicle dynamics.

“So it will be making sure that we try to have synergy between those departments and with Honda on the PU side, because there’ll be probably more than ever, a big interaction between the PU and the chassis. It’s about trying to come up with a holistic product.”

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July 31, 2024 · 12:26 pm

Spa was “damage limitation” against fast opposition, says Verstappen

Verstappen says it was always going to be hard to progress at Spa

Max Verstappen says his run to an eventual fourth place at Spa was “damage limitation,” especially as he finished ahead of title rival Lando Norris.

Having taken pole Verstappen started 11th thanks to a grid penalty. He rose to fifth by the chequered flag, just in front of Norris, before gaining a place from the exclusion of George Russell.

Verstappen said that he couldn’t make further progress simply because he didn’t have a speed advantage over those who started ahead.

“The balance of the car wasn’t too bad always in the first few laps,” he said. “But of course, I also ran a lot in traffic, which probably also didn’t help. But yeah, we were just not faster than the cars around us, and then you just get stuck in that DRS train.

“And I think as a team, we maximised the performance today. Naturally, if you start P1 with the pace that we had, I think you’re fighting for the win, regardless. But starting P11, I knew that it was always going to be a damage limitation race.

“Looking at the championship, it was still a positive day. I extended my lead, where it could have also easily been calculating losses. So from that side, of course, it’s a positive day.”

Verstappen made it clear that beating closest pursuer Norris was the key achievement of the weekend.

“Naturally it’s always better to gain points than lose points,” he said. “And today could have been either way, because he was very fast behind me, but at the same time I was also hunting in front of me.

“I think also naturally we were on two mediums and a hard. I think today, a hard tyre would have helped. Of course, George won the race on a one-stop. But I don’t think we had the tyre wear or tyre life to do that anyway.

“So yeah, also there a few things to analyse, but as a team today, we did a good job. We definitely did the right thing with the strategy, to try and be a bit aggressive initially, to try and get ahead of a few, and it made my race a little bit better.”

Regarding the RB20’s form he added: “With the car at the moment that is probably not the quickest in the race, it’s about just limiting the damage, and trying to be as close as I can be every single time. And that’s what we have been doing lately.

“Next year, I would just hope that we can find a little bit more performance, because we will make our lives a bit easier in the race.”

Verstappen acknowledged that the form book has changed a lot since the days of Red Bull domination.

“I think it shifts a little bit, for sure,” he said. “Constantly, McLaren has been really quick. Mercedes has been quick, but not everywhere. And from our side, we have a bit of work to do. We know that, we have a few things to analyse as well, what to do with the car for the remainder of the season.”

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July 30, 2024 · 3:16 pm

Vowles: Securing Sainz for 2025 a “rollercoaster” process for Williams

Vowles says securing Sainz was a “major event” for Williams

Williams boss James Vowles admits that the process of getting Carlos Sainz to commit to the team was a “rollercoaster” – and he says that he didn’t believe it was realistic until the contract was actually signed.

The Grove team announced on Monday that Sainz has agreed to a long-term deal, having turned down firm offers from Sauber/Audi and Alpine.

Vowles says that discussions about bringing Sainz to Williams first started in Abu Dhabi last year, long before Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari made the Spaniard a free agent for 2025.

He thought a deal was close around the time of the Spanish GP, only for the team to have a poor race weekend, and in effect delaying Sainz’s decision.

“The moment it looked realistic is when his pen hit the paper, that’s the only time I thought it looked realistic,” said Vowles.  “I got stung earlier in the year around Barcelona time.

“I thought we were in a very good state, and that’s on our shoulders. We had a shockingly bad event, and you can’t do that in professional sport.

“But from the perspective of the ups and downs, it’s been a tribulation up and down all the way through from I would describe it as Monaco onwards I think, it’s probably the right timeline.

“But it’s been a rollercoaster, that’s for sure. But it hasn’t been a rollercoaster for any more than actually, the driver market has been really up and down.

“There’s no teams that have properly been committing or deciding their direction of travel right at the front, and that includes right up until now, last weekend. where there’s still discussions over where does Perez go, what changes there?

“And when you have that instability, it’s completely normal that a driver won’t commit to you until such point as they know what their future holds and what doors and avenues are closed. That’s my opinion of it. So as I said, until pen hit paper, I wasn’t comfortable.”

Vowles admitted that beating a major manufacturer like Audi to secure Sainz’s services was a major coup for the team, and reflects its potential for improvement.

“I think it’s a huge, huge event for Williams to have two of the best drivers in the world fighting at the front,” he said. “And I think it is very much a sign of things to come, the fact that we are prepared to have the investment required to be there.

“And a lot of it you can’t see. The one that you can materially see is what we’re doing by effectively putting money where it should be, into the best drivers that are available to us.

“In terms of beating an OEM, and one of the largest in the world, I’m incredibly proud. I said it to him on this, it’s one of the proudest moments of my career, and I’ve had lots of great moments my career.

“The fact that he chose us above all else is a huge, huge, monumental decision. Then, on top of that, we have to be straightforward. Alpine are ahead of us on points this year, and on points ahead of us last year as well, I recognise all of that.

“What he’s not buying into is ‘25, what he’s buying into is what can we provide over the next two years, and what’s the direction of travel.”

Vowles worked hard to convince Sainz that Williams will be a much stronger force heading into 2026 and beyond, having explained why the team will have a difficult time during the building process in 2024-’25.

“I think the first thing is, the conversation has been many months,” he said. “It hasn’t been weeks of which you’ve been privy to some of it, because it’s been a bit more public than I would normally do with a driver discussion, but it actually started way back in Abu Dhabi last year. And the message I gave to him and to his family at the time is no different.

“The message I gave him last weekend in Spa, to be clear. And I believe that’s what’s won it. From the beginning, I gave him warts and all.

“’Here’s what’s going to happen. We are going to go backwards. Here’s why, here’s what we’re investing in, here’s what’s coming. Here’s why I’m excited by this project, and it’s your choice if you want to be a part of it. But I know that we will have success in the future, and I know it’s going to cost us in the short term.’ And I’m confident that that honesty and transparency has paid off.”

Vowles says Sainz in turn kept him fully informed of his thought process in terms of the pros and cons of the competition, thus giving him a chance to state the case for Williams – but he insists without criticising rivals.

“He’s been very consistent on his messaging from the beginning,” said Vowles. “I’ve really loved this process. I wish we could have sort of documented it, and had a little camera, and you would have seen it!

“It was great. He and I have spent some evenings in various hotel locations, including his room, at times, where we’ve had some of the best chats I’ve had, because he’s just this fiery, performance-filled entity. It’s just brilliant. I wish you could be a fly on the wall to observe it.

“And he’s been pretty consistent in his messaging back, which is here are all the positives that you can’t see because you wear a William shirt of all these other entities. And my job back in return is to say, here are the positives of Williams, and here’s the difference.

“I’ve never changed on what those positives are, and I’ve done it in a way that is not putting down other entities.

“I don’t believe that’s correct, or right to do so. And what he’s been doing in time is seeing how some of those positive strands maybe don’t exist elsewhere. That’s probably the best way I can put it to you.”

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July 29, 2024 · 3:05 pm

F1 driver market set to unlock as Sainz commits to Williams for long term

Sainz has made his mind up – finally!

Carlos Sainz has made up his mind and committed to the Williams Formula 1 team with a long term deal that should take him beyond 2026 with the Grove outfit – ensuring that other vacant seats can now be filled.

The news comes as little surprise after bullish statements to the media from James Vowles in Spa suggested that the deal was set be announced soon.

After weeks of examining his options Sainz has turned down both Audi and Alpine, with the recent management turmoil in both camps perhaps the final deciding factors.

It was widely thought that the arrival of Flavio Briatore at Alpine and a planned switch to Mercedes power would make the Enstone team more attractive to Sainz, but the general feeling in the paddock that the team is simply set up to be sold by Renault, and that clearly didn’t appeal.

Although Sainz knows new Sauber/Audi boss Mattia Binotto well from their days at Ferrari he did all his initial negotiations with previous incumbent Andreas Seidl, and while some see the change of leadership as a positive it also points at uncertainty in the camp on top of the unknown form of the 2026 power unit.

Williams, with stable leadership under James Vowles and bold plans for the future, ultimately appealed more than rivals.

“It is no secret that this year’s driver market has been exceptionally complex for various reasons and that it has taken me some time to announce my decision,” said Sainz.

“However, I am fully confident that Williams is the right place for me to continue my F1 journey and I am extremely proud of joining such a historic and successful team, where many of my childhood heroes drove in the past and made their mark on our sport.

“The ultimate goal of bringing Williams back to where it belongs, at the front of the grid, is a challenge that I embrace with excitement and positivity. I am convinced that this team has all the right ingredients to make history again and starting on January 1 I will give my absolute best to drive Williams forward alongside every single member of the team.”

Sainz made it clear that he believes in the team’s vision: “I want to thank James Vowles and the entire Board of Williams for their trust and determination. Their solid leadership and convictions have played an important role in my decision-making.

“I truly believe that the core of every successful team lies amongst their people and their culture. Williams is synonymous with heritage and pure racing, the foundations of the project that lies ahead of us are very strong and I am really looking forward to being part of it starting next year.”

Vowles, who has pulled off a major coup by both holding on to Albon and attracting Sainz, has madem it clear that the team has a big future.

“Carlos joining Williams is a strong statement of intent from both parties,” he said. “Carlos has demonstrated time and again that he is one of the most talented drivers on the grid, with race-winning pedigree, and this underlines the upwards trajectory we are on.

“Carlos brings not just experience and performance, but also a fierce drive to extract every millisecond out of the team and car; the fit is perfect.

“In Alex and Carlos we will have one of the most formidable driver line-ups on the grid and with huge experience to guide us into the new regulations in 2026. Their belief in this organisation’s mission demonstrates the magnitude of the work going on behind the scenes.

“People should be in no doubt about our ambition and momentum as we continue our journey back to competitiveness – we are here, we are serious and with Dorilton’s backing we are investing in what it takes to return to the front of the grid. 

“I also want to thank Logan for everything he has done for the team and know he will continue to fight hard for us in the races ahead.”

Attention now moves to the remaining seats on the 2025 F1 grid. Sauber incumbent Valtteri Bottas is well placed to retain his seat, although the team is known to be looking at young drivers, and is waiting to see how the Red Bull/VCARB situation shakes out.

Jack Doohan is set to graduate to an Alpine race seat, and the Aussie will continue his development programme in the team’s 2022 test car at Spa this week.

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