Williams team boss James Vowles believes that Pat Fry's decision to join the Grove-based outfit as its new chief technical officer proves that the team is now "worth the journey".
Fry's transfer from Alpine to Williams was announced a week ago at Spa along with the French team's decision to part ways with team principal Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane.
Williams now has two seasoned F1 veterans – Vowles and Fry – leading its new found destiny, which augurs well for the British outfit's future.
But Vowles underscores how effective leadership is crucial for fostering a change of culture at Williams, with a healthy and supportive environment also improving the outfit's chances of recruiting more talented staff looking to join a team where their contributions will be valued and recognized.
"When people saw that I left the comfort of Mercedes to go to Williams, and now people have seen Pat at a time where Alpine was in a strong place, that’s why I wanted it to be clear," Vowles explained last weekend at Spa.
"This wasn’t in the last few weeks, this was a long time ago, wanting to join Williams, people will now understand that Williams wants a culture of change.
"Once you see two very senior people that have been in the sport for 20 plus years, and winning races, and we want to come here, others will now see why it’s worth that journey."
Pat Fry (L) with former Alpine sporting director Alan Permane (R).
Vowels shed light on Fry's recruitment, revealing that the British engineer, who began his career in F1 in the late 1980s and who held senior engineering positions at McLaren and at Ferrari, was his top candidate to fulfill the position of chief technical officer.
"The first time I spoke to Pat was actually back in January before I officially started with Williams," Vowles explained.
"He was the one I’d highlighted that I really wanted to be within Williams.
"He’s exceptional at coming into organisations that you need someone to pull their sleeves up and properly get stuck into structure and systems.
"There’s different types of [chief technical officers] available to you: there’s ones that are very good at finding your last 10 milliseconds, there’s ones that are very good at putting structures and systems in place, and he’s more the latter.
"He understandably had a journey with Alpine that he wanted to continue but actually, by April, he could see the vision as to why I had joined Williams and was very much in line and on board."
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