Williams Racing has announced that James Vowles is to become its new team principal. Vowles will join the team on February 20, ahead of the first Grand Prix in Bahrain.
Vowles has enjoyed a 21-year career to date in Formula 1 and will join Williams Racing from Mercedes, where his most recent role was motorsport strategy director, a position he held for over four years. Prior to that, he fulfilled key engineering and strategy roles at Mercedes and former F1 teams including Honda Racing, Brawn GP and British American Racing.
“I cannot wait to start with Williams Racing. It’s an honor to join a team with such an incredibly rich heritage. The team is an icon of our sport, one I greatly respect, and I am very much looking forward to the challenge,” said Vowles.
Talking of the new appointment, Williams owner Dorilton Capital’s chairman, Matthew Savage, said, “We are delighted to welcome James to Williams Racing. He is one of the most highly respected talents in Formula 1 and will bring performance. He has been a key part of some of the most impressive feats in the sport over the past 15 years.
“As we continue our relentless pursuit for results, we believe that the appointment of James reinforces our dedication to ensuring we have energetic, experienced and strong leadership as we move into the next phase of transforming Williams Racing.”
Vowles added, “Williams Racing have placed their faith and trust in me, and I will do the same in return. The team has tremendous potential, and our journey together starts in a matter of weeks. Mercedes have been hugely supportive on my journey, and we part on excellent terms after over 20 years of working in Brackley. I am grateful for everything Toto [Wolff] and the team have provided, and it has been such a special experience to journey together through failure and success.”
