James Vowles

He is most famous for the infamous phrase “Valtteri, it’s James,” but as the head strategist for Mercedes, James Vowles was already a key member of the German team at a relatively young age. In 2023, he takes a huge step: he leaves Mercedes after years of loyal service and moves to Williams, where he takes over from former team principal Jost Capito.

Vowles graduated in 2000 with a degree in computer science, but he wasn’t done learning yet. In 2001, he earned a master's degree in Motorsport Engineering and Management from Cranfield University. For this, he was awarded the Prodrive Award of Excellence. The award was created by David Richards, who became the team principal at British American Racing (BAR) in 2002.

At the age of 22, Vowles began his career at the Formula 1 team BAR, which later briefly became Honda Racing and then Brawn GP, where he played a key role as a race strategist in winning both the Drivers' and Constructors' titles in 2009. After that successful season, the team was sold to Mercedes, and Vowles stayed on.

In 2010, Mercedes promoted him to the role of head strategist, a position he would hold for over twelve years. He helped build the team that has achieved immense success since the introduction of the hybrid era in 2014, securing one world title after another.

During the period when the team's lineup consisted of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, the Mercedes strategist gained recognition among the public. He was often heard on the team radio to Bottas, especially when he had to make way for his teammate or sacrifice his own race to help Hamilton achieve the best possible result.

After a difficult F1 season in 2022, which ended a long streak of Constructors' titles, Vowles decided to part ways with the team he had been loyal to for so long. Amidst a real "silly season" among team principals, the Brit moved to Williams to take over as team principal.

At 43 years old, he replaces Christian Horner as the youngest active team principal on the F1 grid. However, Horner retains the record for the youngest-ever team principal, having been 32 years old when he took charge of the newly formed Red Bull team in 2005. Vowles takes over from Jost Capito and assumes leadership of Alex Albon and newcomer Logan Sargeant in 2023.