Vowles apologises to Mick Schumacher as he clarifies ‘foolish’ comments that

James Vowles has expressed regret over comments he made about Mick Schumacher in the build-up to the Italian Grand Prix that came across in “entirely the wrong way”.

Schumacher was one of three candidates for a Williams seat from this weekend’s race at Monza after the team opted to replace Logan Sargeant amid a challenging run of form.

However, rather than Schumacher or Red Bull reserve Liam Lawson, Williams Driver Academy member and F2 racer Franco Colapinto got the nod to slot in alongside Alex Albon.

While explaining the decision, Vowles commented that former Haas driver Schumacher “isn’t special” and “he would just have been good” for Williams across the remaining nine rounds of the campaign

With those comments picking up plenty of media coverage, Vowles made an appearance on F1 TV at Monza to clarify them, saying: “I read the headlines afterwards. What really came across is me using the word ‘special’ in the context of Mick. I really want to clarify that.

“First and foremost, I’m not here to put Mick down. Mick is in a World Championship team [Mercedes] that have chosen him as a reserve driver, and there’s good reason behind it. It’s because he’s an incredibly strong candidate.

“The word special, I used it in the context of multiple world champions like Ayrton Senna, Lewis [Hamilton] as well. Clearly that’s a foolish thing to do, because that’s the comparison.

“Here’s where Mick is: he’s had a tough run of it, he’s made some exceptional progress and he’s in a very strong team around him. Our decision is based on the fact that we want to go with our academy and our drivers.”