F1 News: Toto Wolff Speaks Out On Losing James Vowles To Williams As Team Principal

Toto Wolff believes James Vowles has what it takes to "become a fantastic team principal".

The Williams F1 team have revealed that Mercedes' chief strategist James Vowles will be the new team principal as of the 20th February. Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff has paid tribute to Vowles wishing him "every success" in the next step of his career.

Vowles has said it is a "huge honour" to be part of the team which is "an icon of our sport". 

The British engineer has worked in the Mercedes team for two decades and has said that he is leaving the team on "excellent terms". Team principal and CEO Toto Wolff has spoken out on Vowles' move saying he has been an "integral part in our success in recent years." 

Wolff explained:

“I have no doubts whatsoever that he has all the necessary skills to become a fantastic team principal in Formula 1.

“We wish him every success and are delighted that he will take this next step in his career with Williams, a strong technical partner of ours and one that has a place close to my own heart.”

Vowles will be joining the team just three days before the pre-season testing begins in Bahrain, so will be straight into the thick of it. The team also have a new driver line-up for the 2023 season with new American driver Logan Sargeant accompanying Thai-British driver Alex Albon. 

The announcement comes after Jost Capito stepped down as Williams team principal in December. The other team chief movements include Mattia Binotto stepping down as Ferrari team principal with Frederic Vasseur taking his place, Andreas Seidl has moved from McLaren to be CEO at Alfa Romeo, and Andrea Stella has moved up within McLaren to be the new team principal.

The Williams team will be looking to make their way back to their former glory of the 1980s and 90s where they won 9 constructor's championships and 7 driver's championships.