Vowles has his ‘heart set’ on signing Sainz as he says ‘odds are in my favour’ for Williams to secure him

Williams boss James Vowles has reiterated he has his "heart set" on signing Carlos Sainz alongside Alex Albon for next season, with the Ferrari man still yet to confirm where his F1 future lies.

Vowles has made no secret of the fact he’s been having discussions back and forth with both Sainz and his team for many months, with the Spaniard confirming he has been speaking to every team on the grid as he seeks the best option for him going forward.

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But there have been no announcements forthcoming and, with the recent shake ups at Kick Sauber, who have taken on Mattia Binotto – Sainz’s old Team Principal at Ferrari – and also at Alpine, who are considering moving away from being a works team, the landscape is ever changing.

But, speaking at the Belgian Grand Prix weekend, Vowles spoke very publicly about why he thinks Williams is the best option on the table for Sainz, who is clear he wants to move to a team that have championship-winning ability, if not now then soon.

“I’m open minded but I want excellence within the team, I want race-winning performance within the team, I want individuals that are leaders, in other words they are established,” said Vowles about his driver line-up.

“So, out of all of those, the top of the list I’ve said from the start is Carlos [Sainz]. Last year he won a race and he did it the intelligent way against some of the best individuals. He’s beaten Lando [Norris] and Charles [Leclerc], he brings excellence along with him and that is where my heart is set.

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“The reason he told me is that when I commit, I need to commit with all my heart and all my soul, and to do that 100% and to do that I can’t have any doubts, and that’s why he’s taking his time...

“How confident am I? I think the odds are in my favour but I’ve been stung by this once already this year.”

As for what that means for the future of current Williams driver Logan Sargeant, Vowles said he talks to the American daily during a Grand Prix weekend and several times a week to support him – but did stress that Sargeant hasn’t always done enough to meet the team’s expectations.

And as for whether Mercedes prospect Kimi Antonelli is an option, should Williams go for a mid-season driver swap, Vowles was also clear in that regard.

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“Toto [Wolff] isn’t pushing [Antonelli] towards me, and I’d much rather give Logan every opportunity to succeed and be an ongoing professional racing driver.

"When we make this car faster, and we will make it faster, we have a responsibility to finish as high up in this championship as we can and if he delivers, brilliant, if he doesn’t we have a decision to make.”