James Vowels, who previously led the opposition to Andretti, though welcoming GM's entry remains committed to getting the most from the new team in terms of an anti-dilution fee.

"Now that we've established what you are, we are now merely haggling over the price," is a line incorrectly attributed to the likes of George Bernard Shaw, Mark Twain and even Sir Winston Churchill, but in truth nobody knows its origin.

Nonetheless, in the wake of GM being accepted on to the grid in 2026 it seems highly appropriate.

Only a few months ago Andretti's bid - though given the greenlight by the FIA - was being met with fierce resistance from Formula One Management and the majority of the teams.

It was argued that Andretti would add nothing to the sport, there were fears over logistics and even whether the new team would last the distance.

Things changed a little when Andretti announced GM-Cadillac as a partner but only to the extent that whole the sport admitted that it would like to have the American manufacturer on board at some point there remained no room at the inn for Andretti.

Then, for reasons yet to be made public, Michael Andretti stepped down and just weeks later Formula One Management and the teams welcomed GM with open arms.

Concerns over whether the manufacturer would add anything to the sport were instantly dismissed, as were fears over the logistics and whether the American giant would last the distance. Hell, they even appointed Mario Andretti a director.

Of course, there still remained that little matter of 'the price'.

As it stands the 'fee' for entering is currently $200m, but with an eye on the dilution of the prize money pot there was talk of Andretti needing as much as three times that amount.

Williams boss, James Vowles, essentially a second mouthpiece for Toto Wolff, and who led the opposition to Andretti, though welcoming GM's entry remains committed to getting the most from the new team in terms of an anti-dilution fee.

"To have a major OEM like GM joining us, I think it's just a sign of the growth, a sign of where Formula 1 is going," the Briton told reporters in Qatar.

"I don't think there's actually any defined amount of dilution fee," he added, the current figure of $200m expiring at the end of 2025. "That's a part of the 2026 Concorde Agreement, which hasn't been ratified at this point.

"What I've said all the way through is it will have financial loss for existing teams. What we have to do now is grow the sport sufficiently and FOM need to be aware of that in order to make things good for everyone. It's down to them to put forward a correct proposal."

"It's a fantastic sign for the sport," agreed RB's Laurent Mekies. "It's going to be pretty much all car manufacturers probably except for Williams, and us.

"You know, even Haas is also linked to a car manufacturers now," he added, seemingly oblivious to the long history of manufacturers entering and leaving the sport on a whim. His words coming as a struggling Volkswagen Group has seen Audi sell a rumoured 30% stake in its F1 team for $350m. "So it's a battle of giants, and it's another sign that the sport is going towards the direction of a battle of giants.

"Details of the financials are still under discussions and hopefully they become small in the big picture of where the sport can go for its next level," said the Frenchman."

"I do not have so much information about it, to be honest," admitted Aston Martin's Mike Krack. "So I think we have to trust F1 how this is going to go.

"I don't know about what payments are being made or have to be made. I think this will have to be defined going forward. So, yeah, I can't say much except that, yeah, we will have to trust F1 that this is going the way it should go."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by ffracer, 13/12/2024 1:19

"The audacity of this man, now identified as the face and voice of those opposing the Cadillac entry. As I agree with the other post, Laps, I would go one further. I have always loved the Williams history but James Vowles has just proven that he understands that his entry is part of a blockbuster cast, show and sport. As such, I feel that he is very lucky that the Williams F1 entry wasn't suspended or under review for consistently failing to provide proper racecars, sufficient spares and equipment. Please do not cite the Brazilian GP carnage, this has become consistent with them. The Williams F1 entry rushing to the preseason test is an embarrassment and compromises the show. Sorry, worry about competently providing your own act, James, and leave the welcome additional entries alone. "

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2. Posted by Laps, 01/12/2024 13:48

"James
F1 is a SPORT! So what matters is maximizing the level of competition, not maximizing your Return-on-Investment. So are you a Racer (which, so far,I always believed) or a Banker?"

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Vowles wants "correct" anti-dilution fee for GM

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