Williams "wasn't ready" for the high-calibre influence of Adrian Newey, according to team boss James Vowles.
Despite publicly attempting to bring the departing Red Bull technical guru to Grove, Vowles revealed that ultimately, the team pulled out of the running long before Newey made his decision to join Aston Martin.
"It was nothing to do with money," Vowles told Auto Motor und Sport. "Although there was a bidding war at the end that we didn't want to take part in. I want people who believe in our project."
Vowles explained that Williams is still in the process of rebuilding and wouldn't have been able to offer Newey the right environment to succeed. "Williams wasn't ready for someone like Adrian. We still have so much work to do before we can offer someone of his calibre the right environment. He would have overwhelmed our team and that could have had the opposite effect."
He added that bringing Newey in too soon could have led to frustration for both the team and Newey himself. "He would have ended up frustrated. And I don't want to build an infrastructure that depends on one person."
However, while Williams may have missed out on Newey, Vowles succeeded in signing Ferrari's Carlos Sainz for 2025 and beyond, beating out competition from Audi and Alpine. "The fact that Alpine and Audi didn't get him is not important to me," Vowles insisted. "What was important to me was that the Williams of today is no longer the Williams of three years ago. Carlos would not have signed for the Williams of the past."
Vowles also praised Sainz's potential impact, dismissing Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore's stated view that a top driver is ineffective without a top car. "Carlos can make a difference with any car," he said. "That's why we brought him in. He will take us forward because he has put his heart and soul into the team."
There is, however, a risk that Sainz might become frustrated with the team's current position in the midfield. Vowles is confident that both Sainz and current driver Alex Albon will be satisfied with the team's environment.
"I don't see any problems in providing an environment where Carlos and Alex are happy," he said. "The biggest challenge will be to serve both cars at the same time when we have upgrades. That hasn't always been the case this year."
