Williams secures Financial Times partnership

Williams has announced a new multi-year partnership with The Financial Times ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Williams, who gained ROKiT title sponsor backing at the start of 2019 after concluding its deal with Martini, welcomes The Financial Times as an official partner to mark the media organisation’s first venture into Formula 1 having run an annual series called ‘The Business of Formula 1’.

The Financial Times logo is set to appear of the rear-wing plate of the FW42 for the remainder of the 2019 F1 season.

“I am delighted to announce the Financial Times as an Official Partner to ROKiT Williams Racing,” Claire Williams, deputy team principal, said. “In only a few short years, the landscape for marketing and brand exposure has changed significantly for all sports, including Formula 1.

“The opportunity to collaborate with the FT to embrace these new forms of media and digital opportunities is hugely exciting for both our team and our existing partners, and I am looking forward to seeing how the partnership develops.”

“This is a hugely exciting partnership between two iconic British brands, both operating globally and at the forefront of their respective fields,” David Buttle, Financial Times Global Commercial Marketing Director, said. “The innovative structure of this deal will both extend the FT's brand and bring together complementary commercial assets and capabilities.

“We’re pleased to announce this at a landmark moment for both the FT - which recently secured its 1 millionth paying reader - and Formula One - which just held its thousandth race, in Shanghai.”

Williams have endured a tough start to the 2019 F1 campaign after missing the first two-and-a-half days of pre-season testing due to delays on the build of its FW42. Chief technical officer Paddy Lowe has subsequently taken an unspecified leave of absence which has led to Williams to call upon co-founder Sir Patrick Head to come in as a consultant.