F1 Today | Vowles branded as 'over-estimated', Porsche reveals F1 future
F1 News
James Vowles has been criticised for his performance this season, despite his hopes to bring Williams back to the front of the grid. It has also been raised that it could be unrealistic for the team boss to expect them to be fighting at the front, even with their new signing. In other news, Porsche confirmed they will be focusing on other ventures, discounting their return to F1. Moreover, Damon Hill shared his latest prediction as to where Adrian Newey may go, and McLaren CEO Zak Brown defended the team's decision to have two number one drivers.
'Williams have become worse with James Vowles'
James Vowles is on a mission to bring Williams back to the front of the grid. Nevertheless, former racing driver Marc Surer has criticised the team boss, stating in an interview with Formel1.de: "I have often said that James Vowles is simply over-estimated. Jost Capito built a car with his people. James Vowles came to Williams, took the car, and they drove fully into the points. All the praises went to James Vowles, not the one who built the car. Now, the car is too heavy and too slow."
He also does not expect the team to return to the front of the grid any time soon, despite the signing of three-time race winner Carlos Sainz. However, he does expect the team to score some more points, unlike they have this season.
Porsche finally unveil F1 future
Porsche's motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach has confirmed that F1 is now "off the table" as they focus on other ventures instead going forward. “It is off the table: right now F1 is not a task for us and we are not spending any energy on that," he began. “We are only focused on what we do right now, and if you look at it, we have many different activities: we are well-occupied and extremely happy with what we do,” he told motorsport.com.
Hill adamant Newey wants to 'continue in Formula 1'
On the F1 Nation podcast, former F1 world champion shared that he is confident Adrian Newey will continue in F1. The top designer announced in May he would be leaving Red Bull Racing, and is available from early 2025. Ferrari, McLaren, and Aston Martin have all been suggested options for the Brit, with the latter being the most prominent suggestion at the moment. For Hill, he believes a move to Aston Martin would be the right choice: "Aston have got headroom, they have got the resources, and they have also got unfulfilled potential, which Adrian could be really useful for."
Zak Brown raises eyebrows over his admission
This season, the battle has become increasingly close between the two McLaren drivers who have both one their first F1 races this season. In a conversation with Autosport, the McLaren CEO argued he is not concerned by having two number one drivers at the team. "They both want to be number one and they are both number ones. We just don't have any number twos. But they race for the team. They're the types of individuals I think can race each other hard and be number one in their own mind and respect the fact that we run two number-one cars. And we always have and always will," he said. Nevertheless, this decision could become costly in the final ten races of the season, particularly with the title battle being so close.