Williams team principal James Vowles sent a text message to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff during the Monaco Grand Prix, apologizing for the tactics his team employed against Mercedes driver George Russell. The message came as Russell grew increasingly frustrated with Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, who were driving well below their cars’ capabilities.
Sainz and Albon’s slow pace was in response to RB driver Liam Lawson’s similar tactics, aimed at creating a gap for teammate Isack Hadjar. The Red Bull junior team was attempting to exploit an unexpected loophole in the new two-stop mandatory rule introduced for this year’s Monaco race.
Vowles’ text to Wolff read, “I’m sorry. We had no choice given what happened ahead.” Wolff revealed the message during his Sunday evening press conference, adding, “I answered. ‘we know’.”
The Williams duo managed to secure points as a result of their strategy. Vowles, who previously served as head of strategy for Mercedes during their dominant run from 2014 to 2021, has since moved on to become the team principal at Williams.
When asked if he appreciated Vowles’ message, Wolff responded, “You know, James is one of my guys, and I don’t want to sound patronising, because he’s making a career as a team principal, and he’s doing really well. He had to do it, you know, he’s [got] two cars in the points. I think what started it was these RBs that backed us back off, and that’s what he had to do.”
Wolff suggested that the unforeseen consequence of the rule should be examined for future races and hinted at his support for a regulation concerning the slowest lap time a driver can complete during the race. “I think what we can look at is to create some more specific regulations that there’s only a maximum of back-off that you can have. You know, you can’t hold up a train, overtaking here is difficult, because you can’t go slower than X seconds from the leaders. That would probably create a little bit more of a closer field. Does it improve the overtaking? I don’t think that’s feasible,” he said.
The Mercedes team principal also proposed potential changes to the Monaco circuit layout, acknowledging the challenges posed by the city’s geography. “We need to talk also with maybe [Monaco organisers] ACM here, and say, is there anything we can change on the layout? Difficult in a city, we’re limited by a mountain and the sea. But you know, I see the positives. This is an unbelievable spectacle,” Wolff added.
