James Vowles has publicly apologised to Mick Schumacher at Monza following his earlier statement suggesting the 25-year-old German is not a "special" driver.
The Williams team principal was clarifying to reporters on Friday why he chose to replace Logan Sargeant with rookie Franco Colapinto instead of Mercedes reserve driver Schumacher.
"If we had put Mick in the car, he would have done a good job, no question," said Vowles. "We think he is good, but not special. Like Logan Sargeant.
"We have to be completely honest about that."
While it's evident that other Formula 1 teams also considered but then dismissed Schumacher as an option for his 2025 return, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff acknowledged Vowles' remarks were rather blunt.
"James is a strategist who sometimes says things very bluntly," Wolff told Sky Deutschland. "It was a statement he probably could have kept for himself. Mick has won everything there was to win. Formula 4, 3, and 2," said the Austrian.
"Then he operated in an environment under Gunther Steiner, which is of course brutally tough. That was not what he needed to develop further as a driver. He deserved a chance and if you don't give it to him, you shouldn't comment on it like that," Wolff added.
Vowles admitted that he was surprised by how harsh his comments seemed when he saw them in print.
"It was a stupid word," he told Sky Deutschland, addressing German journalists who questioned why Schumacher isn't considered 'special'.
"It's what I said, but I was shocked when I read it. I'm not here to put Mick down. 'Special' for me is a multiple world champion - Lewis Hamilton, Ayrton Senna level," Vowles explained. "But it may have hurt Mick and that was not my intention at all."
"So I am also here to apologise to Mick," Vowles added. "He is still a good friend. I tell everyone not to doubt Mick, but I have to make decisions for Williams."
