Lewis Hamilton paid tribute to James Vowles, after the latter was announced to be leaving Mercedes to Williams where he will be Team Principal.
The four time Formula 1 Champion won 82 races with Mercedes, many of which had Vowles’ strategic touch from the day when he headed the strategy department of the team.
But now, Vowles has found his break and will be heading over from Brackley to Grove to become to head of the once great Williams team.
Hamilton took to social media to share some nice words about Vowles; he wrote: “I am so proud and grateful to have worked with James for the past 10 years.
“Together we have won over 80 races and 15 titles. This is such a great move and I couldn’t be happier for him,” he added.
We all need to change
Hamilton understands Vowles’ need to make the move; he said: “We all need to change in order to progress and I’m confident that he’ll push Williams forward to being more competitive.
“There is nobody more deserving of this role. Wishing you the best brother,” the Mercedes ace concluded.
George Russell, on the other hand, took a more humorous approach at expressing gratitude to the departing Vowles, referring to the messages the latter used to radio to Mercedes drivers during races.
“James, it’s George,” Russell wrote on Twitter. “Congratulations on your new role, thoroughly deserved. Thank you for everything you’ve done for Mercedes and the support you’ve given me along the journey. See you in Bahrain!”
Toto Wolff revealed Hamilton’s reaction to Vowles’ departure; he said: “His first response was, ‘that’s amazing for James’ – I think this is maybe the importance sentence.