F1 | Minardi “Paddy Lowe towards the direction of Williams"

With his switch from Mercedes to Williams, after three years full in success, Paddy Lowe is preparing himself not only to change his jacket, but also to assume the role as Team Principal in the stable founded by sir. Frank Williams in 1977.

An era ends. The last cornerstone of F1 (Founder, Team Principal, and Team Manager) is ready to abdicate. This could mean that the reins of the stable have passed into Lawrence Stroll’s hands, the father of Lance who is about to debut this year into the Circus at the Williams wheel, (probably) beside of the returning Felipe Massa.

With Paddy Lowe, an important technician gets to the top brass of the stable. He can create the basis to rebuilt a winning course. A scenario already seen with Ross Brawn when he launched his namesake stable, and the following year sold it it to Mercedes with the world constructors’ and drivers’ 2016 titles in the pocket.

I wish this handover is an auspice for the English team that will count on Stroll’s substantial financial and managerial capabilities.

The displacement of the ex executive technical director of Mercedes is the last example of how Formula 1 has been changing. A Formula 1 that is increasingly in the hands of managers who now lead a team and then change their jacket.

It remains to guess the gardening leave period that Lowe will have to face before entering in action at Grove. That operation will trigger a sequence of procedures linked to the drivers’ market that we will face next days.