In the round-up: New Williams team principal James Vowles has officially started his role at the team’s Grove factory
In brief
Vowles officially takes over as Williams team principal
New Williams team principal James Vowles has officially started his role at the team’s Grove factory after serving his notice period with Mercedes.
Vowles, former chief strategist at Mercedes, had originally been announced as the team’s new team principal in January, replacing Jost Capito, but could not join Wiliams officially until yesterday due to contractual factors with departing Mercedes.
“I really struggle to put into words just how much it means to me, how excited I am, and all the emotions that are bubbling inside me at the moment,” Vowles said in a video posted on social media. “I had the pleasure of meeting already a huge number within this organisation. I frankly can’t wait to meet the remainder over the next few days.
“In just a few days, we’ll be testing in Bahrain in earnest. It’s, for us, an opportunity to really understand where the car is and what we need to do from that baseline to move forwards.”
FIA holds race director, steward training programme with Wittich
The FIA has completed a three-day training programme created by its president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, for selected individuals to educate them in the disciplines of stewarding and race direction.
A group of 24 trainees from around the world attended a three-day High Performance Programme in Geneva, Switzerland. Formula 1 race director Niels Wittich was one of the mentors involved in the training.
“My leadership team inherited a number of challenges when we took office at the end of 2021,” said Ben Sulayem. “It has been well documented that one of those was Race Control management. We have made changes to the Race Control operation and we have devised the High Performance Programme to ensure that we have a pathway of talent coming through for the years ahead.”
Saudi Arabia wants “champion” driver
The chairman of the Saudi Automobile & Motorcycle Federation, Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, says Saudi Arabia want to see a home grown driver competing for major international motorsport championships in the coming decades.
Saudi Arabia is increasing its investment in motorsport, including Formula 1, with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix set to be held for the third time in just under a month. Prince Khalid Al-Faisal…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…