James Vowles has been guiding the Mercedes AMG Petronas since 2010. Even before Mercedes bought the Brawn GP, he made a constructor’s win. With two of the Formula One teams, the British engineer has enjoyed the success of 9 constructors championships, and 100 GP wins. He, along with Mercedes principal Toto Wolff who joined three years after James Vowles, made Lewis Hamilton and the team Silver Arrows dominate in Formula One for almost a decade.
However, now that James Vowles has joined Williams by replacing and succeeding the former boss, Josh Capito, Mercedes is under tension. According to Red Bull’s chief advisor Helmut Marko, Mercedes will struggle with Vowels’ absence. Meanwhile, Toto Wolff has expressed that there is no problem with James moving to Willimas Principal. He has even regarded his best wishes for the new role.
But this is not what Helmut Marko believes, “I have completely different information.” Marko feels that James Vowles did not go to Williams alone, he went there with few GOOD engineers, and this has put Mercedes under huge stress. Speaking with Sport1.de, Helmut Marko further explained, “James Vowles moved off his own accord, and that says he even takes good engineers with him.” Just as the personal sources have informed Helmut, “The mood at Mercedes is so Tense.”
Despite The Tension Occurring In Mercedes With James Vowles Exit, Red Bull Still Finds Mercedes As The Biggest Challenge
Last year, even with their best engineer and chief strategist, James Vowles, Mercedes failed to adjust to the new regulations. As a total, Mercedes just made one win! That’s it. A third position in the constructor’s, their star driver Lewis Hamilton could not even finish under the top five contenders in the driver’s standings. Rather than grieving losing its dominance, Mercedes decided to initiate a strong comeback in 2023.
But things are already going tense so far, as suggested by Red Bull’s advisor. Mercedes’s biggest rival at present is Red Bull. They defeated Mercedes by 17 wins. They developed the strongest car under the new technical regulations. And obviously, next year Mercedes will try to build a good car. But Red Bull who is already experienced with the changed rule will make a better or the best one. So the gap will remain there. And with no James Vowles in the team, Mercedes might face problems as suggested by Helmut Marko.
However, despite the nature and universe being against Mercedes which certainly includes James Vowles leaving the team in hard times, Red Bull still fears their strong comeback. The main threat that the reigning champion team can see is not Ferrari, it is Mercedes. Helmut Marko has already claimed that Mercedes has one of the best drivers while there is Charles Leclerc in Ferrari who is good too, but sometimes he makes silly mistakes. And once again even after suspecting tension with the exit of Vowles from Mercedes Helmut said, “I still believe Mercedes will be Red Bull’s biggest challenge in the 2023 F1 season when it comes to defending the third title for Max Verstappen.”
