Robson: Vowles brought a whole new approach to Williams

Vowles joined Williams from Mercedes at the start of the 2023 Formula 1 season, replacing ousted team boss Jost Capito who left the team along with Technical Director François-Xavier Demaison.

Vowles, formerly the head of strategy at eight-time Constructors' Champions Mercedes, knows what it takes to win in F1 and has set out to rebuild the team he said was torn apart over the years, and started by hiring Pat Fry as Chief Technical Officer from Alpine.

Williams' season so far has not been so bad, and speaking the to media, Robson was asked about the effect Vowles had on Williams since his arrival; he said: "James has brought a wealth of experience and knowledge.

"And also, I think, a whole new approach which is really starting to spread around the factory. I think that’s probably gone hand in hand with Alex [Albon] maturing and becoming quite calm and consistent, level-headed and James brings something similar.

"He obviously also brings clear knowledge of, as we talked about, what Andrew [Shovlin] and his colleagues have got at MGP. And so, it really feels like we've now got a clear plan for the next few years.

"That's very much rooted in recent top-level experience, and now we're just going to put that into action. But in the short term, yeah, the whole atmosphere is new, and it's refreshed.

"It's helped by some of the on-track results, but I think that whole thing is a little bit chicken and egg, and James has definitely played his part in that," Robson concluded.

Mercedes' Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin who was facing the media alongside Robson added of his former colleague: "All my good memories from races… I was sat next to James on the pit wall for 20 years or whatever it was.

"He's left us with a really impressive strategy group. So, Rosie [Wait] is running that now and that's working very well.

"But partly because James was trying to put the group in place that could follow him. But his ambitions were always more than just doing the strategy.

"But it's great to see him enjoying the role at Williams and having a positive effect there because we knew that he would be a loss to our team. But yeah, nice that he’s enjoying success," Shovlin concluded.

Williams are currently seventh in the 2023 F1 Constructors' Standings with 11 points, all courtesy of Alex Albon after finishing tenth in Bahrain, seventh in Canada, and eighth in Britain.