Williams Team Principal James Vols texted former boss Totowolf in the middle of the Monaco Grand Prix, apologising for his Formula 1 team’s tactics.
Williams drivers Alex Albon and Carlos Siss looked at and ran slowly on the tight, twisty Circuit de Monaco, making pit stops for each other, giving them enough buffer to still come forward.
This corresponded to a similar strategy adopted further by the Racing Bulls, so Liam Lawson instructed him to drive slowly, and Isack Hadjar was able to complete both of his mandatory pit stops without losing too many positions.
Williams’ attitude, although not universally recognized, worked as intended, allowing the British team to score an additional double finish at Monte Carlo.
However, this compromised the possibilities of former Vowles team Mercedes, with George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli finishing outside the points on the 11th and 18th respectively.
Russell, after being held back by Albon, was furious and drove straight through the Nouvelle Chicne to overtake him, earning a drive-through penalty.
Incredibly, he came out before Albon after serving as sanctions, but came back behind when he finally got the chance to complete the pit stop.
After the race, Wolff read aloud the text from Vowles, who previously worked as the chief strategist at Mercedes. “I’m sorry. I had no choice considering what happened first.”
Wolff understood the plight of Vowles and responded with a simple “We Know” message.
Wolff was asked if he was grateful to Vowles for sending him a message.
“He had to do it, you know, he has two cars in the point.
New Monacopit Stop Rules for Spotlight
The team was forced to come up with an extraordinary strategy after Formula 1 made it mandatory for all drivers to pit twice in Monaco.
The move was intended to liven up the show and create danger, but Sunday’s race showed no loopholes in the new rules.
Wolff believes the two-seat rule will need to be tweaked next year, but added that organizers will need to adjust their layouts to increase opportunities to overtake them.
“All we can see is creating some more specific regulations that are the biggest backoffs you can have,” he said.
“You know, you can’t lift the train. Overtaking here is difficult because you can’t be slower than x seconds from the leader. It will probably create a field a little closer. Does it improve overtaking?
“I don’t think it’s viable. We need to talk to ACM here (the organizer of Monaco). Is there anything I can change in the layout? It’s difficult in cities. It’s limited to mountains and oceans. But I’m looking at the positives.
