Ex-Mercedes Strategist James Vowles was reportedly on Red Bull’s Radar to replace Franz Tost before signing with Williams

Red Bull sister team, AlphaTauri was interested in signing James Vowles as its Team Principal for 2024.

Ex-Mercedes Strategist James Vowles was reportedly on Red Bull’s Radar to replace Franz Tost before signing with Williams

James Vowles [L], Franz Tost [R] (images via IMAGO)

The upcoming season of Formula 1 will see changes in the top roles at AlphaTauri. However, recent revelations suggest that James Vowles, the current boss at Williams and former strategist at Mercedes, was being considered a potential candidacy for the leadership role in the Red Bull sister team last season.

Franz Tost has been working with Alphatauri ever since its Toro Rosso days and saw a lot of changes within the team. Under Tost, the team gathered two race wins and Tost also saw the rebranding of Toro Rosso to Alphatauri. However, the plan is for Tost to retire from his job at AlphaTauri in the subsequent season and for Laurent Mekies to replace him.

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However, recent reports have shown that, apart from Peter Bayer and Laurent Mekies, the ex-strategist at Mercedes, James Vowles was also a potential candidate to join the Red Bull sister team as the new team boss. Despite the revelation, Vowles already had a deal with Williams going into 2024 and, as a result, the team did not elect him to the leadership role within AlphaTauri.

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Peter Bayer the outgoing FIA general secretary, will partner up with Mekies to hold the top spot in AlphaTauri and will overlook the strategic direction of the team at its facilities in Faenza and in the UK meanwhile Mekies will be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the team, including technical, manufacturing, support function and race team operations.

Laurent Mekies tributed Franz Tost for his 18 years of service to AlphaTauri

The new boss instead of Vowles, did not hesitate to compliment the soon-to-be-replaced boss at AlphaTauri. Mekies wished Tost all the best for his future endeavors and exclaimed that he and Peter would surely require his past inputs and advice in the coming time to ensure the well-working of the team under the new leadership.

Franz Tost
Franz Tost (via The Independent).

The French individual also expressed that he felt honored to take over the role of principal within the team and discussed his early days within the team. Mekies also announced that Scuderia AlphaTauri had all the ingredients necessary for greater success in the future and once again showered his delight in teaming up with Peter Bayer. In the meanwhile, James Vowles has been leading Williams into a new era.

AlphaTauri has been delivering promising results this season after the mid-season break. Despite not signing James Vowles, the team has confirmed Yuki Tsunoda and the veteran Daniel Ricciardo for the next season, the team aims at ending the season on a high note alongside their great lineup of drivers.

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