MIKEY_! wrote: ↑18 Jan 2023, 08:08
I think Vowles is a good fit, for all the reasons people have already listed here.
I'm worried for him though. With Lowe and Capito (+ FX) Williams has shown a pattern of bringing in a new boss hoping it'll solve their existing problems, then heaping all the blame on that boss and sacking them when things don't go well. It looks like a blame culture... and it's always easy to blame an "outsider".
Or maybe Williams is just bad at hiring bosses. All speculation on my part.
Weeell the Capito as principle always seemed transitional and unplanned. They offered Claire Williams the team principal role, then got Simon Roberts in when Claire turned them down. Roberts then left in mid-2021 and they were scrambling really. Like they originally wanted with Claire, they turned to a team principal with knowledge of the inner workings of the team already through having been CEO during 2020, to do the job whilst the ownership changed hands and new upper management could effect their short-term changes whilst they worked on securing longer-term deals. Given that Capito was originally CEO and only took on the role of principal because their acting principal Roberts left, it makes sense to replace him long term if that's not what his skillset is suited to. From the outside, it seems Williams are in a much more secure place now than even 1 year ago, and they can now think about building for the future. Vowles seems like a good step in the right direction in that regard as he is able to motivate those around him, is already highly familiar with the technical side of the sport and comes with the added bonus of recent, intimate knowledge of how a top team on the grid functions
I suppose much of the latter positive attributes of Vowles would have also applied to Lowe when he was signed, and perhaps this is another trip down that lane... But surely Williams can't be so unlucky twice, right?!