Williams boss was concerned Sainz and Albon might both leave

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands, Aug 21 : Williams Formula One boss James Vowles said he had feared losing Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz to other teams before new contracts were signed.

Vowles told reporters at the Dutch Grand Prix that the extensions, announced this week, were "incredibly important" as a public vote of confidence in a team whose performance on track has plunged after the former champions finished fifth last season.

Williams are ninth of 11 teams with 11 points - six scored by Sainz and five by Albon.

"I was concerned about losing both because they are world championship material drivers that deserve the opportunity to be fighting for podiums or more and we haven't delivered that," Vowles told reporters at the Dutch Grand Prix on Friday.

"What I'm thankful for is the moment we have problems, they stood by our side. It shows the outside world... that they believe in what the future looks like.

"Probably the best way to summarise it to you is the factory (employees) - there was a weight lifted off it this week as a result of it (the announcements) and I've seen them move forward at a much faster pace as a result, so the belief is real and tangible."   

SAINZ WANTS TO STAY FOR LONG TERM

Sainz, a four-time race winner with Ferrari, had been linked in media speculation with Audi before agreeing a multi-year extension. He told reporters on Thursday that he had taken his time to assess the situation but was not the kind of person to jump ship as soon as the going got tough.

"I think in the back of my head I wanted to always renew but I was worried, concerned that we need to make sure this (situation) doesn't happen again," he said, explaining his thinking as: "I want to be here in the long term, how can I get out of this with