James Vowles cools hype after landmark Carlos Sainz podium: "Trust the process"

James Vowles believes Carlos Sainz's Azerbaijan Grand Prix podium finish is an important sign that the team is progressing, but not proof that the Grove outfit can immediately contend at the front of the grid next season.

Speaking in the team's post-race debrief, The Vowles Verdict, the Williams team principal urged for patience as he once again outlined the sheer scale of the task it is to push up the pack. 

“I think what I've said all the way along is some positives and negatives for everyone to acknowledge," he said. "I'm confident that we as Williams will step forward every year going forward from here onwards. That's important to know.

"We're on a good pathway. We're investing in a good way. There's a but... We still have a long way to go.

"This is one podium and the giants out there are able to get on the podium every week and win races and we have a long way to go before we're able to achieve that. And in one year, we won't fix everything that we need to fix.

"But my ask of you is stay with us. I hope what everyone can see is we're on the right journey. Trust the process. And there's a lot of good things to come. But be by Williams's side when it happens.”

Sainz finished third on the Baku circuit, behind race winner Max Verstappen and Mercedes' George Russell. The impressive result from the Spaniard delivered Williams's first Formula 1 podium since the rain-shortened 2021 Belgian Grand Prix. At full race distance, it was Lance Stroll's third place in Baku in 2017. 

Starting on the front row, Sainz was able to execute a clean race as chaos erupted behind him. Managing to hold on to third place as Russell pushed his way forward, he scored 15 points while team-mate Alex Albon finished 13th after a challenging campaign. 

“Honestly, I cannot describe how happy I am or how good this feels,” Sainz said following the race. “It tastes even better than the first-ever podium that I did.

Carlos Sainz, Williams

Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images

“We’ve been fighting hard all year and, finally today, we just proved that when we have the speed. We’ve had it all year, and when everything comes together, we can do some amazing things together.

“We nailed the race – not one mistake, and we managed to beat a lot of cars that, yesterday, I wasn’t expecting to beat.”

2025 is a year of building for Williams, with Vowles often framing the season as a bridge to success come the change in regulations while he builds infrastructure, processes and investment. This podium, however, is the morale boost the outfit needs after a podium has eluded it for so long.