Williams’ hunt for a new team principal certainly took a lot longer than fans expected, with it taking over a month for the team to find a replacement for Jost Capito.
Following the German’s surprise departure from Williams, the team have appointed former Mercedes strategic director James Vowles as their new boss, who will attempt to take them off the foot of the championship table.
Capito has now spoken out about his departure for the first time, claiming that it was always the plan for him to hold the position for only a couple of years.
“I originally said that I’d do it for two years, maybe a third. In the meantime, there are so many races that it is relatively exhausting. And getting the team back where it should be takes longer than two or three years,” he explained to Auto Bild.
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“I told the board that now that you have the basis, you should also have someone who will stay there in the long term.
“So we talked about what the right thing was to do and it quickly because clear that now is a good time to hand it over.”
Capito was initially made team principal of Williams in June of 2021, with the aim of helping the team recover from the departure of Claire Williams, whose family had run the team ever since it was founded by the legendary Frank Williams.
Initially Capito got off to a strong start with the team, using slightly more experimental strategies to secure valuable points for team in the second half of the 2021 season.
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Unfortunately for Capito, the loss of George Russell to Mercedes significantly weakened Williams and while Alex Albon put in some strong performances, the team finished rock bottom of the championship.
Going into the second year of the new F1 regulations, Williams will be hoping that the introduction of a new team principal in the form of James Vowles and a new driver in the form of American rookie Logan Sargeant can catapult the team to success.
Having spent a year learning the best way to tackle the new regulations, the team will also be hoping that they can design a much more competitive car for the upcoming season.