The Latest Breaking News from James Vowles

Williams team boss James Vowles has been seeking greater capital expenditure freedom for his squad, after discovering that its facilities are well down compared to many rivals.

Vowles has been at the helm since February and after a three-month back and forth, managed to tempt Alpine chief technical officer Pat Fry to join the Grove squad from 1 November. 

With its factory lagging behind that of rivals Williams has been the main voice in a push to allow teams extra CapEx [capital expenditure] headroom in order to bring their facilities up to the standard of pacesetters Red Bull and Mercedes.

Reported by Autosport earlier on Friday, Williams has confirmed Fry's appointment.

The news of his move was formally confirmed in Spa on Friday, and he will be able to start in his new job at the end of this year.

The subject of extra 'capex' headroom within the FIA financial regulations has emerged in recent months as a way of attempting to level the playing field, and thus any decision could have a significant impact on grand prix racing in future years.

The Dutchman cautioned recently that he felt that would be the case under the new regulations, noting that there would be a “massive development war” between the manufacturers.

It was chosen via a fan vote that was launched over the weekend of the Monaco GP.

Earlier this week, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and the seven team principals from British teams visited Downing Street for a summit meeting with the Secretary of State for DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) Lucy Frazer, as well as advisers to the Prime Minister.