Wolff: No 'gap' on Mercedes pitwall after Vowles departure

Toto Wolff says Mercedes has not been weakened by the departure of chief strategist James Vowles as succession plans have been in place at the Brackley squad for several years.

Williams Racing announced on Friday that Vowles -- a long-standing member of the Mercedes team who has overseen the championship winning outfit's strategy in the past four seasons -- would become the team's new team principal, succeeding former team boss Jost Capito.

The move is viewed as a major coup for Williams, but for Mercedes it will have no bearing on the team's operations on race weekends, with Wolff revealing that Vowles had already taken a step back from his chief strategy role last season and handed various responsibilities in other areas such as in Mercedes' young driver programme.

"There is no gap left behind, because for many years we have discussed the succession planning in this area," Wolff told the media on Friday.

"We've been very reliant on James' visibility, and we put an emphasis a few years ago on how that would continue if he one day would decide to do something else, whether within Mercedes or outside. James was very good in setting that up.

"We have an extremely talented team of strategists. We have nine people, some very senior, that are not always on the front line, and some that have grown within the organisation.

"They have flown the airplane now alone in the last six months, and before that already very much just under James's supervision.

"So I feel very comfortable in the structure going forward. And it’s not that suddenly a big weakness has been created."

• Read also: Williams recruits Mercedes strategist Vowles as team principal!

Wolff revealed that he had informed Lewis Hamilton earlier this week of Vowles exit, and that the seven-time world champion had offered a positive reaction to the news, expressing his happiness with the Mercedes strategist's decision to move on.

"I told him this week that this is going to happen," said Wolff. "And he's absolutely fine. Working with James has always been a great pleasure for him.

"The clever thinking on the Sunday mornings, that was good fun with James always. I think his first response was: ‘That's amazing for James.’ I think this is maybe the important sentence."

Vowles confirmed that Hamilton had wished him the best in his new endeavor.

"I called him last night, and those are the [same] first words that came out of his mouth," said the Briton.

"He was not insulting me or telling me he's disappointed. It's quite the opposite.

"In fact, I'd probably say throughout Mercedes I've had the fortune that near enough everyone I've spoken to has been just incredibly happy."

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