Williams have confirmed a new sponsorship deal with Italian drinks company Martini by unveiling the FW36’s striped colour scheme to the world’s press.
The Martini Racing colours was last seen on the Brabham cars back in 1975 and it also marks Martini’s largest Formula 1 programme since it sponsored Lotus in 1979.
Team founder Sir Frank Williams said: “We are thrilled to welcome Martini to the Williams family and officially launch Williams Martini Racing.
“Williams and Martini share a rich history in the world of motorsport, and the values of our two brands and our shared passion for racing make this partnership a natural fit.
“It will be great to see the distinctive stripes of Martini Racing return to Formula 1 once again in unison with Williams.”
Andy Gibson, president of Martini parent company Bacardi Global Brands, added: “Williams Martini Racing provides a powerful, integrated marketing platform and delivers dynamic opportunities that will strengthen the Martini brand.”
Williams ended pre-season testing with the fastest time in the Bahrain tests, and seems poised for a resurgence in the upcoming Formula 1 season after a disappointing 2013 campaign.
“2014 is going to be a fascinating season, with regulation changes of this scale often shaking up the grid and creating opportunities for teams to make a good step forward,” said Williams.
“Over the winter we have proved our ambition by making a number of positive changes; we welcome a new driver pairing, new senior technical personnel, and a number of new commercial partners for 2014.
“In Martini we have a brand that shares a passion for motor racing and winning championships. This partnership is a milestone in our history and we look forward to working closely with Martini over the coming years.”
The Martini colours on the Williams FW36 certainly looks beautiful and after an encouraging test at Bahrain, the team could even challenge the might of Mercedes for race victory.
Even the drivers overalls for both Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa look great. Let’s hope Martini Racing will bring much success to Williams this season.
Follow the official Williams team for the latest developments:
http://www.williamsf1.com/
https://twitter.com/WilliamsRacing
https://twitter.com/Martini_drinks
News stories on the Martini Williams deal:
http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/12476/9197031/williams-finally-announced-their-new-sponsorship-deal-with-martini-on-thursday
http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/12476/9199399/claire-williams-targeting-points-at-every-race-during-the-2014-season
http://www1.skysports.com/f1/gallery/12837/9199222/williams-reveal-martini-livery
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/26470458
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2014/3/15529.html
http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2014/3/15530.html
Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams thinks Martini’s return to Formula 1 is great news not only for her team, but also for the sport.
The Grove-based team confirmed a new title sponsorship deal with Martini on Thursday, meaning the iconic racing stripes will be back on the F1 grid.
Martini began its involvement with motorsport in 1968 and the Williams agreement is its most significant programme since it backed Lotus during the 1979 season.
Williams Martini launch gallery
“This is amazing, not just for Williams to have brought in a title sponsor with a brand like Martini, that’s fantastic for us, but for the sport as a whole,” said Williams when asked by AUTOSPORT how the deal came about.
“To have a brand like Martini sponsor a team is an endorsement for our sport.”
Although Williams endured one of its worst seasons during 2013, the team chief said the squad’s pedigree played an important role in Martini’s decision.
“The history was important to them, the family side was very important to them,” said Williams. “We share that we are family-owned companies.
“”We are going to do some amazing things and it is really going to help drive interest in Williams, Martini and F1 as well because there is going to be lots of great activation around the races.”
Williams admitted her team faced competition from rivals also trying to secure the deal with Martini, but says the agreement was reached quickly.
“Other teams can offer a lot too and we are all fighting as well, it wasn’t easy,” Williams said.
“I’m just pleased that at the end of the day we won that competition.”
“Some deals can take years and some deals happen just like that and this has been quite quick. For a title sponsor particularly it hasn’t taken as long as maybe you would expect it to have done. Talks started last year.
“Both parties at the table wanted to make it happen because they recognise what we as a team can offer a partner and the shared synergies between our brands.”
Source: Autosport.com