Toto Wolff Blames Himself for James Vowles Leaving Mercedes for Williams

James Vowles left Mercedes at the end of the 2022 season to become the team principal of Williams. This sudden departure of someone who was of extreme importance to the Silver Arrows baffled many fans and experts. The exact reason behind Vowles’ departure was unknown to many until Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff decided to open up recently. The Mercedes boss in his recent interview revealed he himself is the reason behind Vowles’ move to Williams.

Vowles, who worked as a race strategist at Mercedes, wanted the role of team principal despite the presence of Wolff. The Austrian boss has been in this role for a decade and has helped the Silver Arrows achieve immense success. Despite achieving so much success, he has no intent of stepping down anytime soon. Hence, Vowles decided to move elsewhere.

Speaking about the same, Wolff said in the latest Chequered Flag podcast, “He [Vowles] always wanted to be team principal, and I’m here [at Mercedes], so he had to go somewhere else [at Williams.] He had a contract with us, so we let him go there because we wanted to support him also and help him in his career progression.”

Vowles has done a fine job with Williams so far. Under his leadership, the team finished seventh in the championship last year, three places higher than they finished in 2022. Despite such a strong finish to their 2023 season, Vowles wants more from the team in 2024.

James Vowles rues the lack of funds amid enormous ambitions

James Vowles, who misses the good old days at Mercedes, has enormous ambitions with Williams. After helping the team finish P7 last year, the British boss wants to go for more as he eyes a mid-table finish this season. His ambition seems fair given Williams do not have the financial backing to challenge the top teams.

A few months after taking charge of Williams, Vowles understood the fund crunch at the team. He believes teams like Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull are miles ahead in terms of development. To contest with them in the future, Williams would need to spend at least $150 million.

FIA allows a team to spend $135 million a year on development. But for him, the funds are still not enough to reduce the gap to the top teams. Speaking about this, Vowles said, “Unfortunately, in Formula 1, the amount of money we really need to catch up to the front is 150 million.”