Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff Left “Surprised” After Being Dealt a Huge Blow Before 2023 Season

“Valtteri. It’s James. Please hold position!” The man behind this famous radio call – James Vowles will finally get his moment in the sun as a team principal in F1. Amid a crazy exodus of team bosses in the F1 paddock, Vowles has become the team boss of Williams. Although, James leaving is an enormous blow for Mercedes before the 2023 season. The Brit had been the chief strategist for the Brackley team and had been with the outfit since its BAR-Honda days. Certainly, Toto Wolff will be feeling a void of his main strategy guy. The Mercedes boss cited how James’s move was a surprise.

Speaking to Speedweek.com, Toto expressed his thoughts on how he did not see Vowles’ decision coming. He said, “It came as quite a surprise. But, he [James Vowles] is someone who always had this goal in mind, and with us, such a rise is currently blocked by me.” Vowles has played a key role in the race strategy for the Silver Arrows until last year.

He also helped in managing the drivers’ dynamic to get the best team results. Wolff knows the value of James being a key cog in the team setup. The Austrian boss further added, “James is a very intelligent and rational player, so we left him out of the contract. It’s good for Formula 1 as a whole if a man like that makes decisions at Williams in the future.” Wolff previously had also rubbished the assumption of Williams being a “mini-Mercedes” team under James.

Toto will want to move on to keep the strategy team motivated despite James’ departure. Looking at the history of the Brackley squad, they know how to manage such transition periods on any front. Thus, Wolff and Co. shall cope well with the loss of their key man, Vowles.

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Meanwhile, James has got an unfamiliar task at Williams. He may have experience in implementing race strategies. But, leading a team that too a backmarker outfit may be difficult. Nonetheless, Vowles will ensure he uses all his tactical experience from his Mercedes days and probably the team orders effectiveness he has been known for.

The Team Orders Radio Calls at Mercedes by James Vowles

It has become a running meme and joke in the F1 community. Often Valtteri Bottas has been the unfortunate victim of James Vowles’ race strategies. While now both Bottas and James have left Mercedes, it always will remain an iconic gag of F1. Let’s relive some of these team order calls.

Russia has been a happy hunting ground for Valtteri in F1. Perhaps it is the closest race to his home country, Finland. But even at the 2018 Russian GP, the Finn had to bear with James’ team order call to hold position behind Lewis Hamilton. Bottas was disappointed on the team radio but eventually held his P2 to finish behind Lewis.

Several times, Bottas has experienced such a team order to either hold position or let Hamilton pass him in the race. It may feel disheartening from Valtteri’s perspective. Yet, the Finnish driver has mostly abided by James’ strategy calls for the team’s sake.

Recently in the 2021 title battle, James ordered Bottas to abort his attempt at the fastest lap at the Dutch GP. But Valtteri did not listen to it initially and still completed his fastest lap. Eventually, Hamilton took the fastest lap. Yet, there was some discontent Bottas had for constantly getting team orders to help Lewis.

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Regardless, now both James and Valtteri have gone separate ways from Mercedes. Still, it will remain an iconic and memorable tussle of team radio calls between this duo. Toto would certainly miss James’ assertive nature in getting team orders across to the drivers. What do you think? Will Mercedes feel the void of James’ strategy radio calls from this year?