Toto Wolff teases how he will be replaced as Mercedes boss
Vowles left his role at Lewis Hamilton’s chief strategist to become Williams team principal.
Wolff, who runs the Mercedes F1 operation but also owns 33 percent of it, explained how his role as shareholder is more crucial than his job leading the team.
"I've always been very open about how I felt going forward," Wolff said.
"I've made a step beyond the actual employment and my role within the team of being a shareholder is a long-term decision.
"I keep introspecting of how much I can contribute to the organisation, and if one day I believe that there are shortcoming in an area, be it on the sporting, technical or commercial side or in the politics, I would not hesitate for a second about appointing someone to that area of finding someone who could take over what I do.
"Because as a co-shareholder, my main interest is that the team prospers and that we are winning on track.
"That is 90 percent of what I do and the other 10 percent is business or financial development of the company.”
Wolff even said that Vowles could eventually come back to Mercedes as his replacement.
"Never say never because he is great,” Wolff said.
“I hope that he is going to have a long career as team principal at Williams and hopefully we see him in the press conferences after successful weekends.
"He could, have a 10-year stint there.
"You just need to let the bird fly out and do his own thing, and not at that stage anticipating that he is going to come back."
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
