Vincent Vosse is an extremely direct and honest team principal.
We met him in WRT’s hospitality here in Monza at the WEC round.
Before we move on to the part that is juicier for many, which is the LMDH BMW project where WRT will be playing a role, we chatted about the path that led Vincent to become “TP” and what it means to be Team Principal.
Starting from the bottom Vincent tells us that being TP is little more than a title.
One needs to be able to cover many roles at the same time, from marketing to human resources.
Vincent Vosse places a lot of focus especially on the ability of choosing employees.
“[To build a good team] you need to know how to choose the right individuals, all of them, not just one or two.”
It is necessary to know how to properly motivate the team and to find more and more challenging programs and projects.
This is only the first part of being Team Principal, where, over the race weekend there is an equally important aspect.
Decision making.
Where the program manager or engineers have a hard time deciding or a dilemma exists, which rarely happens, the Team Principal’s job is to take over and make the decision.
Understanding the multiple and complex aspects of motorsport is the key quality, Vosse continues, as well as giving the team what it needs.
Negotiating skills, both with drivers and brands is another crucial factor for this figure.
This brings us to the LMDH BMW part of the chat.
Vincent Vosse tells us openly that it is not easy to translate the “know-how” accumulated over the years of LMP2 and GT projects inside a car as complex and technologically advanced as the LMDH.
We then go on to comment on Vosse’s first impression of the car in question.
“The first time I saw the car, I fell in love with it.”
The great merit of LMDHs, Vosse says, is that they have given manufacturers the ability to create cars that are easily tied to the brand.
“When you see the car, you immediately know it’s a BMW.”
As for the choice of drivers for next season, Vosse confirms that there is ongoing negotiating, but no names have been made official yet.
We thank Vincent Vosse and Emma Laddiman for making this interview possible.
