Formula 1
How Williams F1 boss Vowles created his own young driver "void"
Williams team boss James Vowles says Formula 1 teams are facing a young driver "void" after an arms race to sign the best talents.
Filip Cleeren Roberto Chinchero
Edited: Jun 17, 2023, 5:53 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Among other duties, Vowles was in charge of Mercedes' young driver programme before joining Williams as a team principal this year.
Under his watch, Mercedes recruited several top-line prospects, including Italian prodigy Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is rapidly rising through the single-seater ranks.
Now 16, Antonelli smashed through the karting pyramid in 2018 and 2019, which landed him a spot on the Mercedes junior programme in 2019 at the tender age of 12.
But with Mercedes and other teams prising away ever-younger prospects, Vowles now finds himself on the other side of the young driver arms race at Williams.
Currently, the Williams Driver Academy has FIA Formula 3 drivers Luke Browning, Franco Colapinto, Zak O'Sullivan and Oliver Gray on its books, as well as Indy NXT driver Jamie Chadwick.
But according to Vowles, a "void" below the mid-tier junior formulae might now force Williams to go further down the karting ranks to find the next big thing.
"The problem we have is that I think all the future champion drivers have been near enough signed up, up to Antonelli," Vowles said in an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com.
"You have to go younger than Antonelli now, so now we have a problem, the gap has been created.
"We have Zak [O'Sullivan] and we have Luke [Browning]; we have many other drivers but Zak and Luke in Formula 3 who have potential. But it's early days, in my opinion.
"What I'm looking for is someone who's younger than Antonelli, where can they end up. So maybe we have a void."
Luke Browning, Hitech Pulse-Eight
Photo by: Williams
While admitting there is some frustration at tying the highly regarded Antonelli to Mercedes before his departure, Vowles says he is looking to bolster the Williams junior ranks in a similar fashion to his work at Mercedes.
"I was one of very few who created the Mercedes young driver programme, so I know how to make it," Vowles said.
"The frustration is I signed a very good driver before I left, Antonelli is in a good place.
"But I'd much rather create our own programme here, it's under my roof that I can control because the money is not a problem, we'll spend the money required to build it up."
However, Vowles would not be averse to taking Mercedes' junior drivers on loan if the right opportunity came along, much like the Brackley team loaned out George Russell for three seasons at the start of his F1 career.
Read Also:
- The "mini skirt" benefit behind Formula 1's sidepod shift
- Red Bull plays down hype over Mercedes F1 upgrade step
- Clarkson makes good on Alpine Monaco F1 bet with factory beer delivery
He added: "It's not out of the question that if Mercedes wanted to put Antonelli here, I'd be interested in the idea like we do with George, if I don't have another driver of the same calibre."
Earlier this year Vowles revealed he had passed up on signing current Williams driver Logan Sargeant at Mercedes in the American's F3 days, which he since admitted was a mistake.
Sargeant was subsequently snapped up by the Williams academy and promoted to an F1 race seat.
"At the time in Mercedes, we had a good suite of drivers, so that was where my relationship with him ended," Vowles said at the start of the season.
"Williams funded him because they had a deep belief that he was the real deal. It just shows you that in my previous life, I was wrong and Williams was right."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article The "mini skirt" benefit behind Formula 1's sidepod shift
Next article Imola F1 trophy auction raises £247,171 for local flood relief
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Filip Cleeren
Five key takeaways from F1's big African Grand Prix reveal in Rwanda
Formula 1
Formula 1 7 h
Five key takeaways from F1's big African Grand Prix reveal in Rwanda
F1 signs historic 10-year Rwanda deal to host African Grand Prix
Formula 1
Formula 1 16 h
F1 signs historic 10-year Rwanda deal to host African Grand Prix
Latest news
Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
2 h
Gibbs, Spire and Gabehart argue over contempt and injunction
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
2 h
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 3 h
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
3 h
Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe