James Vowles backed to end Williams' slump

James Vowles - Williams

Vowles backed to end Williams' slump

Vowles will join Williams on February 20

Sam Hall

Monday 16 January 2023 10:43

James Vowles has been backed as the right man to lead Williams out of its slump.

Williams announced the former Mercedes motorsport strategy director as its new team principal in a surprise move last week.

During his time at the Brackley-based team through its various guises from British American Racing to Mercedes, Vowles has played a part in nine constructors' world titles and 120 race wins.

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During this period, Vowles has experienced extremes at both ends of the F1 ladder, regarding the financial capability of a team and its position on the grid.

Given this wealth of experience, GPFans readers have widely backed Vowles as the right man for the job after we asked, Is Vowles the right man for Williams?

Full results

Yes - He's a proven winner! - 71 per cent
No - He was just one cog in a well-oiled Mercedes machine, not the full picture - 29 per cent

What we think - deputy editor Sam Hall

Vowles comes to Williams with a vast and varied experience in his back pocket.

Williams has finished at the foot of the constructors' table in four of the last five seasons and for any team, let alone one of the historically most successful outfits in the sport, that is not good enough.

Through Mercedes, Vowles has gradually been taking on more responsibilities that would usually be assumed by the team principal so has done his early learning at the highest level.

With this experience, although I do not expect results to change overnight given his lack of input in the car for the upcoming season, I sense that better things are on the way for Williams.