Vowles explains: 'No plans to get rid of Mercedes parts'

Team boss James Vowles has stressed that Williams is very happy with its partnership with Mercedes. Speaking to Auto, Motor und Sport, Vowles explained that the team gets its independence from other aspects than the technical parts it gets from Mercedes.

Immediately upon taking over as Williams team boss, Vowles made it clear that the team would not become a mini-Mercedes. Indeed, his previous position was chief strategist at Mercedes, and Williams, as Mercedes' customer team, is also fairly dependent on the German brand. However, Vowles immediately stressed that the relationship is purely business and that Williams acts as a stand-alone team.

Mercedes parts not a limiting factor

Nevertheless, Williams still buys parts from Mercedes, for example, the engine and gearbox. When asked if Williams eventually wants to become completely independent from Mercedes - and therefore design their own parts - Vowles stressed that, in his opinion, the parts are not the problem.

"The gearbox has become very reliable," the team boss stressed. "It does its job. So I'm not necessarily worried about that level of independence. On the contrary, Aston Martin is proving that it is not about that. Mercedes delivers high quality. You still have to be in control of where you go with your aerodynamic package. And in which direction you move forward. Mercedes provides us with a very good power unit. We need to invest our time in other areas: Aerodynamics, driving dynamics and so on. We can do that ourselves. Two of the top teams are driving the same gearbox. It is probably fine and not a limiting factor."