Williams ‘steal’ of major F1 sponsor ‘p***ed off’ Ferrari

Claire Williams has recalled the time Ferrari were left “p***ed off” after missing out on a major sponsorship deal to their F1 rival.

Back in 2014, Williams secured a multi-year title sponsorship deal with Martini that resulted in a full rebranding of the car, which was decked out in the brand’s famous white, blue and red colour scheme.

Former deputy team principal Williams has claimed her outfit beat Ferrari to the deal due to being willing to completely change their livery for Martini, something the Scuderia would not do.

Upon learning they had missed out on the deal, Williams revealed Ferrari went as far as writing a letter to Martini claiming they would see the brand “in our rear-view mirrors” in 2014.

As it turned out, Williams enjoyed their best F1 season since 2003 and claimed third place in the 2014 constructors’ championship ahead of Ferrari, who endured a torrid, winless campaign.

“I was really proud that I got that contract at the time, because Martini was about to sign a deal with Ferrari,” Williams told the What It Takes With Olly Fawcett podcast.

“But I think they wanted more than Ferrari was prepared to offer them.

“The Ferrari livery is the Ferrari livery and you can’t really play around with it, but at Williams we offered them the full livery of our race car.

“We said: ‘Hey, why don’t you bring back the incredibly iconic Martini stripes and stick them on our car? Look, we’ve prepared here what that could look like – doesn’t it look great?’

“In the end, most fans agreed that the 2014 livery looked really nice, but Ferrari were p***ed off because they thought we’d stolen their sponsorship.

“Ferrari even wrote a letter to Martini saying: ‘We will see you in our rear-view mirrors next season as you are now sponsoring Williams.’

“And then Williams finished third in the Constructors’ behind Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, ahead of Ferrari, mind you.

“And, yes, of course it went through my head: ‘We didn’t just snatch the title sponsor from under your noses, we beat you.’”

Williams land record title sponsor

On Tuesday, Williams announced a record multi-year deal with Atlassian to become their new title sponsor for the upcoming 2025 F1 season.

Atlassian have become the first title sponsor of Williams since 2020 and the partnership represents the biggest deal in the team’s history.

“I am delighted to welcome Atlassian into Formula 1 and our evolution into Atlassian Williams Racing,” said Williams team principal James Vowles.

“Attracting a title partnership of this size and significance is a momentous day in our team’s illustrious history and a major milestone in our comeback transformation.

“We are putting in place all the right ingredients to get this team back to the front of the grid, and in Atlassian we have a partner that through its technology and tools will help unleash our full potential by improving teamwork and collaboration right across the organisation.

“Our values and ambition align perfectly, and I’m excited about what we can achieve together.”