James Vowles takes responsibility for Carlos Sainz fallout

Williams left Miami with points on the board, yet Carlos Sainz ended the race feeling wounded.



An untelevised radio message captured his irritation after Alex Albon overtook him despite what Sainz believed was an internal agreement that his team-mate would not attack.



“That’s not how I go racing, guys. I don’t care. I don’t care.



“I’ve lost a lot of confidence here on everything.”



Those words, delivered as he crossed the line, sparked soul-searching at Grove.







Communication Breakdown Exposed



Team principal James Vowles admitted the post-race frustration mirrored his own feelings.



A cooling issue on Albon’s car had prompted engineers to ask both drivers to create a gap, but the instructions were muddled.



“To Carlos, the message was communicated: ‘Alex won’t attack you.’”



“And to Alex, that same message was communicated that he isn’t to overtake Carlos, but only when his DRS was open and he was effectively alongside Carlos completing the overtake.”



Vowles conceded that the key directive—whether overtaking was even permitted—“wasn’t clear in its construct.”



Vowles Accepts Team Responsibility



“This is on us – as a team, as an organisation – to significantly tighten up how we communicate to the engineers and how quickly we communicate to the drivers,” he said.



He stressed that Albon had not ignored orders, and that both drivers “will do absolutely everything right for the team” once clearer protocols are in place.



Vowles vowed such confusion “simply won’t happen again.”



Damage Prompted Likely Position Swap



Beyond mixed messages, Sainz’s car was carrying floor damage from Lap 1 contact.



Telemetry showed his performance slipping by several tenths per lap, so Williams expected they would have swapped the cars regardless.



“What’s worth adding from my side is even once we had stabilised them, we more than likely would have very quickly inverted the cars,” Vowles explained.



As the deterioration worsened, Albon’s pace advantage became too significant to ignore.



Passion Valued Despite Flashpoint



Vowles insisted that Sainz’s fiery response is “exactly why I want him in this team.”



In his view, genuine anger reflects deep commitment, and channeling that passion correctly can lift Williams further up the midfield.



“They’re giving their heart and soul to us and, in the case of Carlos, he was there fighting for a fifth place on merit,” he said.



Path Forward for Williams



Post-Miami debriefs stretched into Monday, focusing on sharper wording, faster relays, and a firm hierarchy of calls.



Sainz and Albon remain “world-class drivers,” according to Vowles, and their combined feedback is expected to refine internal procedures.




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With consecutive double-points finishes highlighting the FW47’s potential, Williams know discipline on the pit wall must now match the car’s step-up on track.



A more cohesive radio strategy, Vowles believes, will prevent repeat misunderstandings and preserve harmony as the season’s pressure mounts.



Only then can Williams convert raw speed into regular top-five results—without radio static derailing the plan.
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