James Vowles: Carlos Sainz Baku podium gave Williams' a "boost"
James Vowles during the Singapore Grand Prix press conference on Friday - Photo: Race Pictures
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Shayni Solanki joined GPblog in the autumn of 2025 as an NCTJ-qualified motorsport journalist with a degree in History and Classics from the University of Warwick.
Shayni works for TNT Sports/Eurosport covering MotoGP, WEC, WRC, Formula E and Speedway, and has bylines in Motorsport Week, Motor Sport Magazine and Racing Pride. She initially fell in love with motorcycle racing before discovering Formula 1 as a young Ferrari fan.
James Vowles' "emotional" response to Carlos Sainz's maiden podium for Williams in Baku, claiming the result is a "boost that drives a team."
"They can see it, breathe it, live it at the same time."- James Vowles
The former Ferrari driver left the Prancing Horse for Williams Racing this season, and earned his first podium for the iconic team at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with an incredible drive that Vowles described as "emotional."
In the Friday press conference ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, Vowles said: "I’m incredibly proud of Williams because it’s a team that has such a fighting passion and spirit inside it, but it was just surviving for so many years.
"Even when I turned up, it was still in that survival mode. Everyone has diligently, and with almost no obstacle put in the way, changed in the way we need to become competitive again.
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"The reward wasn’t just seeing the mechanics and Carlos and Alex, who was right by my side for the podium.
"The reward was taking the trophy, putting it back in reception in the factory, and I went down every hour or so to see 50 or so people there. Emotional—tears, crying, laughter, happiness—it meant the world to them."
"And it meant the world to me to see that," Vowles continued.
"It’s a boost that drives a team really far forward. It’s belief, it’s not my words anymore that are required. They can see it, breathe it, live it at the same time."
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This was Williams' first podium since George Russell's second place finish at Spa in 2021, with Sainz earning his first podium ahead of Alex Albon.
Williams are currently fifth in the Constructors' Standings, having scored 102 points so far this season.
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