Vowles reveals Mercedes had secret document to avoid tension between Hamilton and Rosberg

Currently in a peaceful environment at Williams, James Vowles experienced much more tense moments during his career in Formula 1. In 2013, the Englishman, then responsible for strategy, saw the arrival Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes replacing Michael Schumacher to drive alongside Nico Rosberg.

As history has recorded, the beautiful friendship between the two former comrades of karting gradually grew darker over the seasons until the height of a rivalry in 2016 and their accident in Barcelona. Internally, in Brackley (United Kingdom), the management of the German team obviously wanted to avoid this turn of events and this war, both on and off the track. However, nothing happened. After a cordial first season between the two men in 2013, far from the drivers' and constructors' titles, 2014 marks a turning point.

So at the wheel of a dominating Mercedes, the two teammates know that the championship is promised to one of them at the end of the year. Before any tension arises, James Vowles takes the lead in creating “rules of engagement”, reveals the main person concerned in the High Performance podcast.

The Mercedes document included « very clear boundaries”

“It took a while, but my role was to develop a document that created very clear guidelines on 'how we are going to work with each other, how we are going to fight against each other.' At the time it was called 'rules of engagement', then later changed to another less military, but more racing-related term, recalls Williams' current Team Principal. There were very clear boundaries on 'this is how we are going to behave' and 'this is how we are going to perform', and there was a lot to do."

In details, “the first page was about being a sportsman.” “To explain it, you can win a world championship, but if you did it in a way that is not fair and sporting, you will have regrets for the rest of your life. Yes, you have a championship under your belt, but it will be tainted, it will be blurred, it will not be pure”, he adds in reference to the disqualification of Michael Schumacher in 1997.

Hamilton and Rosberg “joined” to this mentality

Thus, the document aimed to pull Hamilton and Rosberg up, to make them, like the rest of the team, "more starving" than the staff of the other teams and to “ensure that they are aware that they could become the best sportsman in the world, [...] or that they could win a race by doing something that perhaps forced, injured or hurt their teammate.”

James Vowles and Mercedes also ensured that the two champions would fight on equal terms for the title. Assessment? “They joined (to this mentality. Ed.) and it created a good environment,” recalls Williams' current principal. Once this “respectful winner” mentality took hold, successes came in 2014, 2015 and 2016, but also the conflict between the pilot duo.

However, this method doesn't mean we haven't had problems over time.", continues James Vowles. “Everyone will remember Barcelona 2016. [The accident] still sticks in my mind today because you take two elite athletes who were forced into their garages and were just frustrated.” And how did the strategy manager react to this failure? “What you do at that point is you don't back down – you double down and say, 'this is how it's going to be.' »

Kelman Marti

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