F1 News: Helmut Marko Claims Mercedes In Crisis As Tension Mounts With James Vowles' Departure
Helmut Marko, motorsport advisor for Red Bull, has alleged to friction in the Mercedes garage after chief strategist James Vowles made the move to be Williams team principal.
Vowles, who is replacing Jost Capito who stepped down from the role before Christmas on 20th February, was an integral part of the Mercedes team eight consecutive constructors' championship wins.
Mercedes CEO and team principal Toto Wolff is adamant that there are no hard feelings and wished Vowles all the best in his new role. However, during an interview with Sport1.de, Marko described tension over the strategists departure. He explained:
“No, I have completely different information.
“Vowles went of his own accord and - so it is said - even takes good engineers with him. My sources tell me that's why the mood at Mercedes is so tense."
Despite Vowles supposedly taking some engineers with him to Williams, Marko is still considering Mercedes as Red Bull's main threat for the upcoming 2023 season. The advisor continued:
“We’ll see. However, I still believe that Mercedes will be our biggest challenger when it comes to defending our title."
Mercedes have not commented on these rumours and are maintaining that there is no tension within the team over Vowles' exit.
The 2023 season will be kicking off with the Bahrain Grand Prix on 3rd to 5th March with the pre-season testing the week before. The season will consist of a record breaking 23 races after it was confirmed the Chinese Grand Prix will not be replaced in April.
Mercedes struggled last year, whereas, Red Bull sailed their way through the season taking the drivers' and constructors' championship titles. Despite Ferrari coming in second in both championships, Marko has not acknowledged them as Red Bull's main threat due to the significant developments the Brackley team were able to make towards the end of the season.