Former Mercedes man James Vowles made a big step in his career in 2023. After Jost Capito was released from the position of team principal at Williams, the former was brought in as a suitable replacement.
Vowles had been part of Mercedes‘ predecessor Brawn GP and remained with them until the end of the last season. In his last years with the Silver Arrows, the Briton served as a chief strategist with the eight-time world champions.
His spell at Mercedes, spanning over a decade, would have got him several allies. Yet, he isn’t allowed to bring some of the people from his former side to bolster the operations at Williams.
James Vowles reveals he can’t poach people
Unlike other sports, F1 is likelier to poach people working behind the scenes. As the engineers only build the car that could dominate the grid. However, Vowles, despite knowing a plethora of talented people at Mercedes, can’t get them to jump the ship.
“That’s right,” Vowles confirmed that he isn’t supposed to poach personnel from his former side. “But that’s not just the case between Mercedes and me – anyone who leaves a team cannot simply take people with them.”
Even though Vowles explains the blockage diplomatically, the current F1 grid has recently seen some massive shuffling. Recently, Red Bull even teased Aston Martin for copying them as they reportedly hired several people who earlier worked with the former. This list includes Dan Fallows, who was believed to be Adrian Newey’s adjutant once.
Toto Wolff wished Vowles all the luck
Indeed Vowles was an integral part of Mercedes’ dominance in the turbo-hybrid era. Therefore, it would have been a tough departure for both parties.
However, it was a crucial step up in Vowles’ career in motorsport. And even though Toto Wolff lost a key man from his team, he was happy for his former aide. The Mercedes boss even claimed that he is confident about Vowles gaining immense success in his new gig.
In the end, Wolff wished all the success to his former colleague and called him one of the best technical minds Mercedes ever had. Now, it remains to be seen how Williams progresses as a side under the charge of Vowles.
