Paddy Lowe Going To Williams
Discussion
Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe is poised to make a shock switch to Williams next season, with multiple sources indicating that he has accepted an offer to join the Grove-based team.
On the back of three consecutive Formula 1 world championship titles, Lowe’s future at Mercedes had been the subject of speculation for months after it emerged his contract was due to run out at the end of the year.
Talks between Lowe and Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff about extending his deal had been delayed until after the season, but it emerged this week that the intensity of the negotiations had ramped up after a rival team had made a serious bid to lure Lowe away.
According to sources with good knowledge of the situation, that team is Williams – which is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2016 campaign, where it dropped to fifth place in the constructors’ championship battle.
Although there has been no official confirmation from either team on the situation, it is understood that Lowe has indicated that he will accept what Williams has to offer.
Furthermore, with his contract at Mercedes due to expire on December 31, it is possible that he will not be forced to take a lengthy period of gardening leave – meaning he could be able to switch teams for the start of 2017 season.
It is unclear exactly what Lowe’s position will be at Williams, but it has been thought for some time that its technical chief Pat Symonds has been looking to bow out of F1 after a lengthy career.
There could, as such, be a transition phase, where Symonds hands over control to Lowe so that he can retire at the end of 2017.
Lowe may, however, take on even greater team management responsibilities, as it has been clear that his motivation for the prior move from McLaren to Mercedes was to be involved in running a team.
Should the Lowe move happen, then it is almost certain that former Ferrari technical director James Allison will be drafted into Mercedes to replace him and work alongside Wolff.
http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mercedes-f1-tech...
On the back of three consecutive Formula 1 world championship titles, Lowe’s future at Mercedes had been the subject of speculation for months after it emerged his contract was due to run out at the end of the year.
Talks between Lowe and Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff about extending his deal had been delayed until after the season, but it emerged this week that the intensity of the negotiations had ramped up after a rival team had made a serious bid to lure Lowe away.
According to sources with good knowledge of the situation, that team is Williams – which is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2016 campaign, where it dropped to fifth place in the constructors’ championship battle.
Although there has been no official confirmation from either team on the situation, it is understood that Lowe has indicated that he will accept what Williams has to offer.
Furthermore, with his contract at Mercedes due to expire on December 31, it is possible that he will not be forced to take a lengthy period of gardening leave – meaning he could be able to switch teams for the start of 2017 season.
It is unclear exactly what Lowe’s position will be at Williams, but it has been thought for some time that its technical chief Pat Symonds has been looking to bow out of F1 after a lengthy career.
There could, as such, be a transition phase, where Symonds hands over control to Lowe so that he can retire at the end of 2017.
Lowe may, however, take on even greater team management responsibilities, as it has been clear that his motivation for the prior move from McLaren to Mercedes was to be involved in running a team.
Should the Lowe move happen, then it is almost certain that former Ferrari technical director James Allison will be drafted into Mercedes to replace him and work alongside Wolff.
http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mercedes-f1-tech...
ELUSIVEJIM said:
No wonder Bottas is not interested in moving to Mercedes.
Is Rosberg's seat as special as everyone is stating if Paddy is moving.
Has Bottas said he's not interested in moving to Mercedes? Is Rosberg's seat as special as everyone is stating if Paddy is moving.
Maybe Lowe is moving to Williams because he fancies a new challenge, he's probably been promised a more senior position as well.
Flooble said:
What do people think about the other half of the equation - James Allison coming into Mercedes?
I find it difficult to believe that he'd move to Williams without a guarantee that the funds required to support his requirements would be there.And surely Lowe is a safer pair of hands than Allison?
Like any business, Formula 1 teams only ever get so long at the top. History tells us that Merc are unlikely to continue ther domination for much longer. Guys like Lowe (and every other person in F1) want to win. Everyone in the Mercedes team will be aware of the likelyhood that the best years are now behind them. That's going to be in the front of their minds when they're considering their next contact.
Many people in F1 are not permanent employess - it's not just the drivers. They typically have fixed term contracts, for, say, three years. It appears Lowe does, and his contract is due to finish in December - of course he's going to be talking to other teams. He's going to want to join the next rising team.
Many people in F1 are not permanent employess - it's not just the drivers. They typically have fixed term contracts, for, say, three years. It appears Lowe does, and his contract is due to finish in December - of course he's going to be talking to other teams. He's going to want to join the next rising team.
Norfolkit said:
Sadly, I really don't see Williams as "the next rising team", they're going backwards.
Depends how rich Lawrence Stroll really is - $2.4 billion would mean Ferrari+ levels of money available for his son's toy racing car over five years.Whether he'd want to bankrupt himself for his son is another matter of course.
ELUSIVEJIM said:
No wonder Bottas is not interested in moving to Mercedes.
Is Rosberg's seat as special as everyone is stating if Paddy is moving.
How much of Mercedes dominance is down to Lowe? He didn't join Merc until mid 2013. He obviously did a good enough job in keeping the paddles turning but how much was he involved in building the foundations?Is Rosberg's seat as special as everyone is stating if Paddy is moving.
This will show Lowe for what he really is, each time he's been with a team it has been while they were at the top but very rarely was he there for the development of a car to new regs coming in once the design work had been done and taking credit for the results.
Moving to a new team at this point will get him out of looking bad if the Merc is not right at the sharp end into a team that has already done all the major development of the new car so no blame as he wasn't on the design team at the crucial time.
A move to Williams at this point after being part of a winning team for 3 years to me is a sign of little confidence in his abilities, if he was that good Merc would pay if anything necessary to keep him or there would be multiple teams bidding to get him a move to William, to me, doesn't signal that.
Moving to a new team at this point will get him out of looking bad if the Merc is not right at the sharp end into a team that has already done all the major development of the new car so no blame as he wasn't on the design team at the crucial time.
A move to Williams at this point after being part of a winning team for 3 years to me is a sign of little confidence in his abilities, if he was that good Merc would pay if anything necessary to keep him or there would be multiple teams bidding to get him a move to William, to me, doesn't signal that.
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