For the director of the James Vowles team, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was the most visible sign of progress he has pushed Mercedes to lead the Grove outfit in 2023. Last weekend gave Williams a moment of breakthrough while Carlos Sainz delivered his first complete podium in eight years to Baku.
Speaking on the Jimmy’s Joby of the Future Podcast later, Vowles explained how Formula 1 Fandom has evolved. He explained how new fans interact with teams and drivers differently than in the past, reflecting a cultural change through sport.
“The best that I can describe to you now is when you enter Silverstone, you are welcomed by a thousand fans, which has existed for 5:00 am, just to have the opportunity to say hello. And as you cross, very generally, there will be something like a Williams shirt and an effective idea. And more apparent.” (31:35)
James Vowles considers this mixture of allegiances as one of the clearest signs of the way F1 has changed. In the Netflix era, fans often enter sport through drivers rather than teams, creating an intermediate intervention between established giants such as Ferrari, McLaren and Williams.
Lewis Hamilton, who recently moved to Ferrari, brought his own fans, adding to the tifosi. It is a gap compared to the traditional One team, for the commitment of life which defined the older generations of followers.
“While before that, you are right, it was really about the team and it is always in some cases. I would say that Ferrari is a religion in Italy more than anything else. And when you support Ferrari, you feel so connected that this is where you are linked. The achievements, and this is where someone feels a dedication at the same time.” (32:27)
For Vowles, this represents the double traction of the modern F1 fandom of F1, where the teams retain a deep cultural weight, but transcendent figures like Hamilton shape global consequences which exceed the garage walls.
“I was lucky at Mercedes”: James Vowles reflects on Mercedes for years before Williams Breakthrough
Before arriving in Williams, James Vowles spent more than a decade in Mercedes during their dominance series in the hybrid era. Initially, he was an engineer and became a strategist, and finally became director of the motorsport strategy.
Speaking on the podcast, Vowles explained how he went to a wider leadership role and highlighted his time under Toto Wolff and the exhibition he acquired there.
“This is a challenge, but I savor the challenge. So, we are well. I was lucky at Mercedes, to be one of some very great senior leaders but B – I had toto. It really provided me with a little rope to go doing what I needed,” he said. (13:19)
Its history in contracts, finance and strategy in Mercedes gave it the ground to take over in Williams, where structural reconstruction was the first priority. The Azerbaijan podium has shown that these foundations ultimately carrying that the approach that the Vowles learned from Brackley won in Grove.
Published by Rupesh
