Capito blames 'exhaustion' for Williams F1 departure

Former Williams F1 team principal Jost Capito has said that 'exhaustion' led to his decision to leave his role at the end of the 2022 season.

The 64-year-old German took the role in December 2020, replacing acting team principal Simon Roberts, but unexpectedly announced his departure after just two years in the post.

Technical director Francois-Xavier Demaison also announced his exit from the team at the same time, leading many to speculate that the team's 2022 campaign had disappointed the owners, Dorilton Capital.

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But in an interview this week with AutoBild, Capito insisted that his decision to step down had been his and his alone, and for personal reasons.

He told the German publication that he had only intended to spend a relatively short time at Williams, and that the packed race schedule had only made him more convinced that the role needed someone younger.

“From the outside of course you don’t have the insight," he commented. "But I originally said that I would do this for two years, possibly a third.

"But it takes longer than two or three years to bring the team back to the top," he acknowledged. "And in the meantime there are so many races [on the calendar] that it’s relatively exhausting.

Williams enjoyed a positive season in 2021, finishing eighth in the constructors championship standings and securing a podium with George Russell in the rain-hit Belgian Grand Prix.

But that brief bounce faded away last season with the team back in the wooden spoon spot at the foot of the standings, despite some impressive runs from Russell's replacement Alex Albon and a top ten spot for stand-in Nyck de Vries.

This year, US racer Logan Sargeant will join the team racing alongside Albon in place of Nicholas Latifi.

Capito believes that he and his team have laid the groundwork for his successor James Vowles to benefit from in 2023.

"I simply believe that you first have to lay the foundation, and once that has been laid you can build on it," he asserted. "I was convinced that this is the case now, and I also communicated this to the board.

"Now that you have the basis, you should also have someone who will stay there in the long term and can continue from there."

Capito said he hadn't known that Vowles would be taking over at Grove until the announcement was made public, but that he was pleased with the selection of his replacement.

“I congratulated him accordingly, of course," he said. “I have already worked closely with James, also with Mercedes and their drivers. He is very competent; I like him very much and he is also a good person."

Vowles had been a core part of the title-tinning Mercedes team as chief strategist for over a decade, before being approached by Williams' owners to take the central role of principal.

Vowles' former boss at Mercedes, Toto Wolff, said that it was a good choice by Williams even though he ould missing having Vowles by his side on the Mercedes pit wall.

Vowles will "not be fooled by what you've been told by someone in the technical or engineering area", Wolff told the media this week.

He added that a team principal needed an understanding of the commercial and political aspects of the role, not just engineering. "James ticks many of those boxes," he said.

"He absolutely understands commercial strategy, so even though James' background is in engineering I would put him more in my camp in terms of skills."

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