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James Vowles

Vowles aiming for personal growth as realisation sets in

The former Mercedes man is just over half-way through his first season as an F1 Team Principal.

James Vowles
Article
To news overview © XPBimages

Williams boss James Vowles was taken aback by the scale of responsibilities faced by Team Principals as he continues to target personal growth in the role.

Vowles left Mercedes before the start of the 2023 season to replace Jost Capito as boss and was faced with turning around a team that had suffered years of bad results.

Under the guidance of Vowles, as of the Italian Grand Prix, Williams sits seventh in the standings on 21 points - and is on course for its best season since 2017 if the anomalous 2021 season is discounted thanks to the half-points awarded for the washout at the Belgian Grand Prix despite no green racing laps taking place.

As well as continuing to rebuild the team with drivers Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant, Vowles has detailed how he himself is continuing to grow in the role.

"Nothing can prepare you"

"I'd be disappointed if I'm not continuously learning through this journey, every single month and every single year if you asked me [what lessons I've learnt] in one year's time, and I still didn't answer: 'I'm learning everyday," Vowles told media including RacingNews365.

"The largest thing is this: you move from running small teams, even large teams, to an organisation, and they're very different requirements.

"There's not one single day where you're focused on the same thing. Typically you are in about 10 to 12 different meetings, each one of those on different subjects: it can be drivers, marketing, what’s happening in Las Vegas, engineering, performance, aerodynamics.

"It is exciting. It's interesting, it'll keep you on your toes the whole time. And I think that dynamic and the ability to have to cover-off so many subject areas so quickly was… nothing can really train you for it until you’re in it."

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RESULTS 2024 F1 Belgian Grand Prix - Free Practice 2