Vowles suggests that Ferrari erred regarding Hamilton.

      "I can’t really say whether that was a mistake or not."

      James Vowles is uncertain if Ferrari’s choice to sign Lewis Hamilton was a "mistake." In the end, it benefited Vowles, who leads the Williams team that acquired the driver previously ousted - Carlos Sainz. El Mundo Deportivo informed Vowles that if Ferrari genuinely erred in their decision regarding Hamilton, who has had a tough time in red, it was a "fortunate mistake" for Williams. "Exactly," Vowles concurred.

      But does Vowles genuinely believe Ferrari might now regret not keeping Sainz, 30, alongside Charles Leclerc? "I can’t really say if they are or not," the Briton responded tactfully. "They had their reasons for their choices. Lewis is still a seven-time world champion, bringing immense knowledge. And despite what anyone may say, he has pushed Charles at times. Ferrari acted in their best interest, creating an opportunity for me to work with Carlos."

      However, Williams and Sainz have experienced a mix of successes and challenges, with the Spaniard finding it difficult to adjust to a markedly different car and team, even voicing disagreements regarding some recent strategic decisions. At Imola, he confessed he nearly disregarded a team order to pit. "I was close to not coming in," Sainz told DAZN, "as it felt too early in the race, and that lap seemed to present chances to potentially overtake someone.

      "I’m a team player. I follow orders. If the team requests me to stop, I must comply," he continued. "But I sensed it wasn't the right decision, and it turned out to be correct."

      Sainz has also publicly shown his displeasure with Williams' choice to cease development on its fairly competitive 2025 car to entirely focus on 2026. "It’s possible we’ll introduce new parts to the car again after the summer break," Vowles told Auto Motor und Sport. "However, they won’t be tested in the wind tunnel. We require the allowed test runs for 2026."

      Despite this, Vowles acknowledges that creating a winning car for next season is "too ambitious" a target for Williams. "We have too many things that aren’t set up right now to build a winning car for 2026," he admitted. "Just too many. Mercedes, McLaren, Red Bull, and Ferrari have far better structured systems than we do at this point, but we’re making progress. They likely won’t be operational by 2026, maybe not even by 2027. So, I see 2028 as the earliest time those systems could be fully functional."