Hamilton and Albon praise Vowles: 'He speaks our language'

James Vowles himself regularly tries to minimise his input. The fact is that Williams has made huge strides since the Briton's appointment as a team principal. Meanwhile, the team - thanks only to Alex Albon - have accumulated 21 points. This has already put Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri at a hefty disadvantage. In short, Williams is more than on the rise and Vowles has undoubtedly played a significant role in this.

"James is great," says Alex Albon. "I've said it a few times now, but I think the best of James is probably still to come. I think that a lot of the stuff that we're doing right now is short-term goals that we've been able to do. Things like tyres. Strategy. He has prior knowledge, quick knowledge that you can get. Overnight almost. But the real big things, the big ticket items, are going to come next year, the year after that. And that's what I'm excited to see. I'm really excited to see what direction he's going to take the team. Speaking to him, he obviously has a close connection with drivers, and he does do a bit of driving himself. So he gets it. He understands the language that we talk."

Hamilton proud of journey with Vowles

Lewis Hamilton worked with Vowles for many years at Mercedes, where he was responsible for strategy. "I love James," said the seven-time world champion. "James is exceptional. And we had an amazing journey together. We achieved so much together, and we still have a very good friendship. I remember him being in the role and realising there was nowhere for him to really progress within the system. And I knew that just it was a matter of time before he would break away. And this opportunity came up, it was so great and so right for him."

Most team bosses have slowly worked their way up to their current roles. For some, the role of manager fits, for others, being team boss ends in disappointment. "And obviously, so many people questioned whether he could do it [being a team boss]," Hamilton said. "And you're seeing such a great impact that he's having there. He's got such a great mindset. For us, we miss people that we lose. But we're very proud of people coming through, having a good time and having that success and carrying that on in their careers."

The Mercedes driver continued: "I think James was very much a part of setting up the system we have within our team. So we're operating off some of his philosophy, and we'll continue to do so. I'm excited to see the progress that they're making there.."