James Vowles is proud Carlos Sainz chose Williams over other more attractive options, insisting having him onboard is a major vote of confidence for the rebuild project underway at Grove.
The Spaniard decided to join Williams according to the news that broke on Monday, after he was chased hard by Audi-Sauber while other options were also on the table.
To be realistic, with initial speculation that Sainz would join Red Bull turned out to be off the mark, the same applying to reports claiming Mercedes might be another option, Williams might end up being the right move, keeping in mind the latest upheaval at Audi Sauber with Mattia Binotto replacing Andreas Seidl.
Nevertheless, having Sainz on board will come as a major boost for the renovation project Vowles is currently leading at Williams.
Speaking to Formula 1's Official Website, Vowles revealed that Sainz pointed out during the negotiations his other options.
"He [Sainz] was the first to point out to us that the opposition is incredible," the former Mercedes strategy boss said.
"We have one of the biggest OEMs in the world [Audi], one his father has won with. You can’t easily turn it down. You have a team that has won a race more recently than we have. We can’t ignore that. But what he saw with us is not where we are today but where we’re going.
Williams staff thrilled by Sainz
"This is huge," Vowles insisted, "this is really important in our stepping stone of how we move forward. Emotionally, it made everything worthwhile in just a second. He’s a tremendous milestone and it means a lot to me and the team.
"We played the team a video of Carlos announcing the news and you could not hear a word of it for at least the first 45 seconds because of the cheers, the shouts, the clapping. That reaction tells me everything I need to know – which is they believe in this decision as much as I believe in it.
"But now I need to demonstrate to him, the team and the world, that we’re on the right path," Vowles admitted.
While Audi was reportedly willing to break the bank to have Sainz on board, Vowles was clear throughout the long negotiations with his newly signed driver that it is more about the journey than the money.
Vowles joked: "I did say to him it’s probably the longest [contract in terms of length], by a long way, and Lewis’s [Hamilton] contracts are difficult, to be clear!
"There were moments across the last few months where I’ve said ‘if you’re coming for the money or the short term, it won’t work for either party.
"This is a proper journey. It’s going to be difficult, but incredibly rewarding," the Williams boss concluded.
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