Alex Albon hopes the previous title-winning experience James Vowles will bring from Mercedes to Williams with his recent appointment as their new Team Principal can propel the side forward in the upcoming years.
After Jost Capito departed the role at the end of last season, Williams made the shock announcement that they had poached Vowles from his long-standing position of chief strategist at the Mercedes team to take up the vacancy.
Although Albon has admitted he retained a good relationship with Capito and the timing of the change is far from ideal, the former Red Bull racer is excited to get working with an established name like Vowles, who became an integral part of the most successful team in Formula 1 history.
“Yeah, obviously in terms of timing it’s tricky. Just because of this being almost the peak month for getting ready for next year,” Albon said.
“While obviously, I liked Jost very much and we had a great relationship together. He was obviously the person that brought me into the sport, or back into the sport, so I have a lot of time for him.
“Obviously James coming on board now with his experience at Mercedes. Hopefully that can pull things forward, push and increase the evolution of the car.
“Let’s see if we can make some short-term progress. Long term, it’s nice to have that different point of view coming from a team that had so much success in the past.
“And you can very much tell that with James, that he’s had a lot of experiences in all areas of the company at Mercedes so hopefully we can put that to good use.”
Vowles had been a member of the Brackley set-up before Mercedes completed their full takeover in 2010, during which time he has overseen nine Constructors’ Championship successes.
His final year with the Silver Arrows included assisting with George Russell’s integration into the team after his move from Williams last winter and Albon has admitted to already being in contact with his long-time friend to enquire about his new team boss.
“I’ve spoken a little bit to George but not too much, he’s too busy on holiday,” he answered.
“The time difference wasn’t great, but I had a little chat with him, everyone I know speaks very highly of James, Jost included. I’m sure he can bring a lot to the table.
“There is a bit of a waiting situation for him to get started, but of course we’ve caught on the phone and had a dinner also. It’s nice to see what he thinks and you can see that he’s very keen. He’s motivated to get the team to where the team can be. It’s exciting.”
