James Vowles announced as William’s new team principal
Williams have recently announced that James Vowles, Mercedes' strategy director, has become their new team principal for 2023 onwards.
Vowles will officially take up the mantel of team principal on the 20 February, before the first race of the 2023 season on 5 March. Vowles will become the third team principal of the 46-year-old team, following in the footsteps of Frank Williams and Jost Capito.
The announcement comes as a surprise to many fans as well as other team principals in Formula One, especially Toto Wolff, who has worked with Vowles for nearly a decade. Although the announcement was not expected by Toto, he has expressed his delightment for Vowles.
Wolff said: “While we are naturally sad to be saying goodbye to such a capable member of the team, I have no doubts whatsoever that he has all the necessary skills to become a fantastic team principal in Formula One.”
Vowles career started as part of the British American Racing team and he has stayed through the team’s numerous amounts of changes- first to Honda, then to Brawn GP, who won both championships in 2009 and then Mercedes where he stayed from their introduction in 2010 to the end of the 2022 season.
Williams have previously confirmed that the launch of their 2023 car will occur on the 6 February, with pre-season testing occurring between the 23-25 February. Vowles arrival will leave him with a short amount of time to get up to speed with the team, however, he believes he will be able to steer the team into a better trajectory than previous seasons.
Vowles said: “Williams Racing have placed their faith and trust in me, and I will do the same in return. The team has tremendous potential, and our journey together starts in a matter of weeks.”
Williams were brought by Dorilton Capital in 2020 who believed they could bring the team back to its formal glory.
Matthew Savage, the chairman of Dorilton Capital, said: “As we continue our relentless pursuit for results, we believe that the appointment of James reinforces our dedication to ensuring we have energetic, experienced, and strong leadership as we move into the next phase of transforming Williams Racing.”