Williams Racing’s announcement of hiring James Vowles as the Formula One team’s new team principal shocked many, but it wasn’t because he’s not a qualified candidate.
He’s overseen more than 120 race victories and played a key role in nine constructors’ titles. And for the last 13 years, he’s been with Mercedes in key engineering and strategy roles, working his way to being the motorsport strategy director. Now, Vowles replaces Jost Capito, who stepped down as Williams’s CEO and team boss in December.
Vowles told select media that the conversations between the Grove outfit and himself began “over the last month or so,” adding that it wasn’t a complete “cold call” given the relationships within F1.