Jost Capito explains the reasons for his departure
In an interview with Autobild, Jost Capito, former team principal of Williams, discusses the reasons for his departure. He also mentions his successor and the FIA's call for proposals to bring in new teams to Formula 1.
Exhausted by the intense pace of Formula 1.
Jost Capito has made the decision to leave the sport after the 2022 season, exhausted by the busy Formula 1 calendar. From the outside, of course, we don’t have the full picture, but I had originally said that I would do this for two years, possibly a third. But in the meantime, there are so many races, it’s still relatively tiring.
It was planned for him to stay for two or three years before passing the torch. According to him, his work has laid the foundations, but now we need someone who can commit for a longer period of time to further develop the team. « I simply believe that we first need to lay the foundations, and once they are in place, we can build upon them. I was convinced that this was the case now and I made it known to the board. Now that we have the foundation, we should also have someone who stays long term. »
James Vowles, the ideal successor.
Highly regarded engineer at Mercedes, James Vowles becomes the new team principal at Williams this year, a successor that delights Jost Capito. « I have already worked closely with James, as well as with Mercedes and its drivers. He is very competent, I really like him, and he is also very good in terms of interpersonal skills. So, I congratulated him. »
The call for proposals from the FIA
According to the German, the arrival of new teams is not a bad thing. However, they must have a solid project. It is clear that only teams that truly have a concept, the appropriate infrastructure, and the financial support to sustain it should come. I think it would not be good for Formula 1 if a team arrives and leaves fairly quickly. That’s why teams that want to enter must prove that they have the capacity.
He mentions in particular the arrival of Andretti, which remains today the most probable hypothesis. « This should be possible, at least in the case of Andretti, who has been leading successful projects in IndyCar and Formula E for many years, and who is also building a new mega-factory. But it’s still something else than a Formula 1 team. We would really have to look into the details. »
