Despite Huge Loss, Wolff Confesses Why He Sacrificed Mercedes F1 Gem

The silly season of team principals, which started with the resignation of the former boss of Ferrari, Mattia Binotto, might come to an end. In what could be a massive loss to Mercedes, Williams has appointed the Director of Strategy of the Silver Arrows, James Vowles, as its team principal. James will be replacing Jost Capito, who resigned from his post. 

James, notably known from his radio messages, “Valtteri, it’s James,” had been with Mercedes since 2010 and played an integral part during the team’s juggernaut run in the 2010s. For any team to let go of a senior role means compromising and taking a risk in a certain department. But Toto Wolff sees it as a smooth transition despite it being a huge loss to his team.

In his message to James over his appointment at Williams, Wolff, while giving his assurance to Mercedes fans as he sees good people coming up next after James’ departure, said, “Although we are naturally sad to say goodbye to such a competent member of the team, I have no doubt that he has all the skills to become a fantastic Formula 1 team director.”

“We wish him every success and are delighted that he is taking this next step in his career with Williams, one of our long-standing technical partners and a team that has a place in my heart,” Wolff was quoted by Motorsport NextGen Auto, revealing why he let James go.

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Vowles’ leadership and technical skills will be thoroughly tested next year as he will take on a mountain of challenges. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see him going head-to-head against his former boss at Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton’s reaction to Vowles’ departure from Mercedes

According to Toto Wolff, the seven-time world champion learned about James’ departure this week. Responding to the news, Toto Wolff quoted Lewis Hamilton, as reported by Autosport, and said, “Working with James has always been a great pleasure for him. The clever thinking on the Sunday mornings, that was good fun with James always. I think his first response was: ‘That’s amazing for James.’ I think this is maybe the important sentence.”

Vowels also revealed how Lewis Hamilton talked over the phone with him. He said, “I called him last night, and those are the [same] first words that came out of his mouth. He was not insulting me or telling me he’s disappointed. It’s quite the opposite.”

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Toto Wolff revealed that the team had a progression plan for Vowles and that they planned to gradually wean themselves off of their reliance on him. Things for all parties concluded smoothly, and now what remains to be seen is how things work out for everyone in the coming years.