Marko claims Mercedes F1 atmosphere ‘tense’ after Vowles exit.
Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko claims that there is unease within the Mercedes Formula 1 team following the exit of James Vowles.
25th January 2023, 11:47
by Fergal Walsh
Motorsport Week

When asked if he was worried that Vowles could shape Williams into a B-team for Mercedes, Marko said: “No, I have completely different information. Vowles went of his own accord and – so it is said – even takes good engineers with him. My sources tell me that’s why the mood at Mercedes is so tense.”

However, while Marko was cautious over whether Vowles’ exit could hurt Mercedes form next year, the Austrian states that he expects the Brackley-based outfit to be Red Bull’s biggest competitor this year.

“We’ll see,” he said. “However, I still believe that Mercedes will be our biggest challenger when it comes to defending our title.”

‘Mercedes F1 atmosphere tense’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2023/...r-vowles-exit/


How Williams Hired Away Mercedes’s Strategy Director, James Vowles
January 17, 2023 6:49 PM
By Madeline Coleman Sports Illustrated
News & Observer, North Carolina

Throughout his 21-year F1 career, he’s been part of more than 120 race victories and played key roles in winning nine constructors’ championships. 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.

“From my perspective, the conversation just started picking up initially because it’s an incredible opportunity and I feel like I can add to it,” he said, per formula1.com. “And really from both sides, both Williams and myself, we concluded that the fit is very, very good after a number of meetings with the board. We actually found a way of working, a way of thinking, a way of approaching things, culture, people, systems, was incredibly aligned.”

‘How Williams Hired James Vowles’;

https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/...mainstage_card


Vowles taking engineers from Mercedes
JANUARY 25, 2023
Motorsport Week

"Vowles went of his own accord and, so it is said, is even taking good engineers with him. My sources tell me that's why the mood at Mercedes is so tense," the Austrian added.

‘Taking engineers’;

https://www.grandprix.com/news/vowle...-mercedes.html


ANALYSIS: Why Williams made Mercedes’ James Vowles their new Team Principal
16 January 2023
Lawrence Barretto
F1 Correspondent & Presenter
Formula One - Official Site

Williams are F1’s second most successful team in terms of constructors’ championships won, but have struggled to replicate that form and compete at the front since the turn of the century. They have finished last three times in the last four years.

Owners Dorilton Capital decided late last year that things needed to change, and thus parted ways with Capito – while removing FX Demaison from his role as Technical Director. At the time, they didn’t have a replacement ready to go, with sources suggesting there were more than 10 under consideration.

Vowles was high on their list – and Dorilton moved swiftly, getting the deal over the line in a month or so. Vowles says he told Mercedes boss Toto Wolff of the offer “a few weeks ago, into the New Year” and said the Austrian, as he expected, was “incredibly good” about the news.

‘New Team Principal’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...LDEEzejN5.html


‘Like a divorce’: James Vowles opens up on Mercedes exit as he denies claim
James Vowles will join Williams as their team principal at the start of next month.
16 January 2023
by Jack Devonport
Formula1News

While a move from being a strategy director to a team principal may seem as a massive leap, Vowles has explained that he has been working towards this role for a while and that he feels more than ready for his Mercedes ‘divorce’.

“Fortunately, I’m not seeing it… it is a leap, it is a jump, but I don’t think it’s a massive leap,” he claimed. “I think this journey towards team principal has been one that has been in my head for many years, and Toto and Mercedes have been incredibly kind in order to provide me a pathway to get there.”

“However, it’s the same if I asked any of you to change what you’re doing and move onto a different organisation, even perhaps if you’re doing the same job. The best analogy I can use so far is almost like a divorce. It’s hard. That’s a lot of people that are incredibly close to me, that I’ve grown up with.”

‘A Divorce’;

https://formula1news.co.uk/like-a-di...-denies-claim/