The new team boss of the Williams racing team will differ in many ways from his predecessor. The new one is James Vowles, previously head of strategy at Mercedes. It is certainly binding, but unlike Jost Capito, the Briton will hardly make it his trademark to wish the Formula 1 friends of the payment channel Sky from the paddock a nice race; always combined with the request to keep your fingers crossed. It was of little use. Williams was bottom of the constructors’ championship, Capito had to leave before Christmas. Vowles, on the other hand, comes from the top, from Mercedes. As chief strategist, he is one of the intellectual fathers behind seven drivers’ and eight constructors’ titles.
For the 43-year-old, it is still a promotion, no question. It is also without question a loss for his previous employer. Maybe, as the conspiracy industry has it, but just a test. A few years ago, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, 51, toyed with retiring to his role as co-owner. Technical director James Allison didn’t want to move up, Vowles seemed the next logical choice. In fact, the engineer has taken on many managerial duties lately.
The fact that he can now switch to the competitor without the usual ban and can slip into the blue team clothing in good time for the start of the test drives on February 20 shows the special corporate culture at Mercedes. “You can’t stop someone who can soar. If a bird wants to fly, you have to let it go,” says Wolff. The Austrian himself had his first Formula 1 job at the helm of Williams before the then Mercedes boss Dieter Zetsche brought him into the struggling factory team. Why not try Vowles now as the person with overall responsibility and then bring him back – especially since Williams, as an engine customer, is part of the star family anyway?
Another serious candidate for the job at the traditional brand Williams, whose last world title was a quarter of a century ago, would have been Susie Wolff. The former racing driver and wife of Toto Wolff, who was the last woman to have been involved in a Formula 1 weekend (2015 as a test driver in a Williams), would definitely have recommended herself as a successful ruler in Formula E because of her own vita. But the Wolffs probably didn’t want this competition after all. In the Williams race factory in Grove, although a stronghold of consistently rough masculinity, they would have had no problem with a woman at the top, they knew that from Claire Williams. The daughter of the company founder was replaced by Capito at the end of 2020.
Vowle’s move shows a new trend in Formula 1
The fact that there is now another radical management change, the technical director had also been dismissed, also has to do with the new owners. Dorilton Capital is a private investment company from the USA, which had already prevailed in the choice of drivers. Investors wanted a US pilot, and they found him in Logan Sargeant from Fort Lauderdale. Capito could also have imagined Mick Schumacher in the cockpit.
The appointment of James Vowles suits the financiers well, strategist to strategist, but also illustrates a trend in Formula 1. Following the successful example of Toto Wolff, team bosses are no longer fixated on the command post at the race track, they are more business leaders . The German Andreas Seidl, who will be preparing Audi’s future with the Sauber racing team, is another example of this. Red Bull governor Christian Horner, who worked his way up to the top as the senior, was once hired by Dietrich Mateschitz under completely different conditions.
Vowles was also involved in Jenson Button’s world title
Tactician Vowles embodied the constructive no blame Error culture at Mercedes perfect. His strategists rarely made a mistake, but when they did, he personally reported to the drivers over the pit radio – and apologized. From the voice off he now becomes the front man. He experienced how underdogs can be successful right at the beginning of his Grand Prix career, when he came up with strategies for Ross Brawn’s racing team that made Jenson Button the surprise world champion in 2009.
There are hardly any better teachers than Brawn and Wolff, but of course he will now try to establish his own style at Williams: “I’ve been carrying the idea of leading a team around with me for years. Williams now trusts me. I’ll pay it back. This team has huge potential,” he says. He is not afraid: “Of course it’s a leap, but not a big one. I was well prepared for it at Mercedes. And Dorilton is ready to invest. We will certainly have to strengthen the technical department. But the most important element to be successful is the people and the culture. One person alone can’t pull it out.” As far as the rumors are concerned, he also builds up straight away: “Williams will not be a mini-Mercedes. I will stand on my own two feet.”