Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have both moved to praise James Vowles for his impact at Williams this season. Prior to the start of the campaign, Vowles departed his role at Mercedes to take on the Team Principal position at Williams. The Grove-based squad has enjoyed an encouraging campaign so far, scoring 21 points as it looks to end the season seventh in the championship, which would mark its highest finish since 2017. Hamilton and Rosberg both worked closely with Vowles at Mercedes, where the Briton was its Motorsport Strategy Director before his switch to Williams. Vowles has reiterated that Williams' push back towards front-running competition will take several years following a number of seasons at the back of the field. However, amid a strong opening stage to his career at the team, Vowles has received praise from the pair of F1 title winners. Speaking to the Sky Sports F1 podcast, 2016 World Champion Rosberg said of Vowles' season: "I'll give him a 10 out of 10. I don't see anything he could have done better."
Hamilton 'proud' to see Vowles succeed
Seven-time World Champion Hamilton also heaped acclaim on Vowles, telling media including RacingNews365.com : "James is exceptional and we had an amazing journey together, we achieved so much together. "We still have a very good friendship. I remember him being in the role [at Mercedes] and realising there was nowhere for him to really progress within the system. "I knew that just it was a matter of time that he would break away and this opportunity came up, it was so great and so right for him. "So many people questioned whether he could do it and you're seeing such a great impact that he's having there. He's got such a great mindset.” While Vowles' departure was a hit to Mercedes' technical structure, Hamilton is hopeful that he can lead Williams back to competing at the front of the field, having watched the British squad fighting for F1 title when he was growing up. "We miss people that we lose but we're very proud of people coming through, having a good time and having that success and carrying that on in their careers," he said. “"ames was very much a part of setting up what the system we have within our team. So we're operating off some of his philosophy and we'll continue to do so. "I'm excited to see the progress that they're making there and I can't wait to see Williams come further up. "When you guys were up and in the top three [at Zandvoort], it was kind of cool, because when we were growing up Williams were right up there, so really happy for them and look forward to racing them soon."
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