F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Vowles: Williams 'clearly on crutches' due to team's personnel voids

James Vowles has a revival strategy for Williams, but to get the ball rolling the team needs to recruit additional personnel to address critical "voids" in its organization, and until that is done, Williams is operating "on crutches".

Vowles has been at the helm of Williams since February of this year, orchestrating the Grove-based outfit's recovery – both financially and structurally – while also tending to its day-to-day affairs.

The former Mercedes strategist realized a nice coup recently by convincing former Alpine chief technical officer Pat Fry to commit to Williams' future, a move that Vowles hopes will encourage more senior staff from rival teams to jump onboard in the coming months.

But until the Grove-based outfit strengthens its engineering department, Williams' leadership team is forced to direct its focus away from its recovery plan, leaving the F1 outfit relying on temporary support and in a state of transition.

Read also:

"We're fortunate with the team I have behind me at the moment because they are filling voids that exist. But clearly, we're on crutches," admitted Vowles.

"We're trying to do 10 things and it's always better if you focus on one.

"I'm not a strong engineer within the paddock. There are much stronger engineers than I am.

"What I am though is someone with a vision of where we want to get to and lead people there in that direction. People, at the moment, are very much aligned with that view."

Vowles says that bringing onboard trusted recruits acting as "lieutenants" will help spur ideas throughout the team's organizational hierarchy as well as help divert more of his time towards Williams' longer term ambitions, an area where he believes his expertise will be better applied.

"At the moment, we have a small leadership team that are cascading ideas," he explained.

"But you get an almost exponential improvement in the amount of people you put in place, the training you put in place, and the ideas, the more you have lieutenants that you trust. That’s not the case today.

"The case today is I'll be spending 10 minutes on what we're doing technically for the next few races, 10 minutes on what we're going to do strategically across the race, 10 minutes on how we are going to spend money in three years' time, 10 minutes on the F1 commission," he added.

"The more I can focus in on the bits that I think I'll be stronger at, which is strategically across the next five years - how we move chess pieces into a strong pace - the stronger Williams will become."

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.

Recent Posts

Sebastian Montoya steps up to Formula 2 with Prema

Sebastian Montoya, the 19-year-old son of former Formula 1 star Juan Pablo Montoya, is set…

7 hours ago

Sauber finds its ‘Northern Star’ under Binotto’s leadership

When former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto took on the role of Chief Operating Officer…

9 hours ago

Leclerc hails a season ‘without missed opportunities' in 2024

Charles Leclerc concluded the 2024 F1 season with a sense of satisfaction, the Ferrari driver…

10 hours ago

Coulthard sounds alarm over FIA president’s rift with F1 drivers

Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has voiced his dismay at FIA president Mohammed Ben…

12 hours ago

The rapid rise and fall of Super Aguri in F1

Super Aguri's application to join Formula 1 became a reality on this day in 2005,…

13 hours ago

Ferrari's 2024 Season: Marked improvement and a fight to the finish

Ferrari roared back into contention in 2024 to deliver their strongest season in years, thanks…

14 hours ago