Lewis Hamilton phoned James Vowles as Mercedes man left to become Williams boss
Vowles was Hamilton’s chie🅠f strategist but has now left Mercedes to take the team principal𒈔 job at Williams.
Hami෴lton first heard the news from Mercedes boss Toto Wolff b🔜efore speaking to Vowles.
“I told him [last] week that this was going to ha𝕴ppen and he is absolutely fine,” 𒁏Wolff said.
“Working with James has always been a great pleasu🉐re for him. The clever thinking on a Sunday morn♎ing, that was good fun with James always.
“I think his first response was💛 ‘That’s amazing forไ James’.”
Vowles 🐓added: “For what it’s worth, I called him and those were the first words that came out of his mouth.
“Not insulting me or t𓆉🐟elling me he’s disappointed, it was quite the opposite.
“In fact, I’d probably say throughout Mercedes I’ve had the fortune that near enough everyo𒀰ne I’ve spoken to has just been incredibly happy.”
Hamilton posted on social media abo🌟ut Vowles: “Together꧅ we have won over 80 races and 15 titles. This is such a great move and I couldn’t be happier for him.
“We all need to change in order to progress💯 and I’m confident that he’ll push Williams forward to being more competitive. There is nobody more deserving oꦯf this role.
“Thanks for everyth♋ing, James. Wishing you the best, brother.”
Bad news for Hamilton?
The loss of his c🍰hief strategist is an unexpected plot twist as Hamilton enters 2023.
Mercedes have alr🌺eady confirmed that they will not recruit anybody to replace Vowles, and have a succession plan from within, suggesting the evolution ༺should be smooth.
But will Hamilton feel the difference💎 in the heat of battle, without Vowles?
James was a sports j♓ournalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything ♑from American sports, to football, to F1.
