A lot has changed in the past 20 years. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Williams and Ferrari were often the key title contenders and now the two teams find themselves at opposite ends in the pecking order.
While Ferrari is closer than ever to mounting a real title challenge in 2025, Williams finds itself struggling to even get into the points.
No team wants to find themselves in the doldrums. However, former Williams team principal Claire Williams has revealed that being among the backmarkers helped her side gain a huge sponsor once.
That was a $15 million-per-year deal that Williams signed with the drinks brand Martini ahead of the 2014 season. The Grove-based outfit was in danger of losing the partnership to Ferrari—until Claire stepped in.
“Every start you make, every overtake, I’ll be racing you!”
We have touched down in Hungary. Check out the view from our @Martini_Global Terrazza! #HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/3jifoY7U2i
— Atlassian Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) July 26, 2018
“I was really proud to get that deal at that time because Martini was about to sign a deal with Ferrari,” she said on the What it Takes podcast.
“I think they wanted more than Ferrari was willing to offer them,” Claire added. “We know that the Ferrari livery is the Ferrari livery, that’s it and you can’t go wild with it, but we offered them the full livery of our car“.
Ferrari, however, was furious as they believed Williams stole their sponsor. Claire revealed that the Maranello-based outfit even left a note to the Martini bosses, which conveyed, ‘We’ll see you in our rear-view mirrors next season because you chose to sponsor Williams’.
When the prancing of the Prancing Horse backfired
After Ferrari arrogantly wrote a letter to Martini, almost guaranteeing that the drinks company was making a mistake, they had to back up their bold claims with performances on the track.
However, not only did they finish behind Constructors’ Champions Mercedes and second-placed Red Bull in 2014, but they also finished behind Williams.
Having signed a 7-year engine deal with Mercedes, starting in 2014, and signing veteran Felipe Massa and Finnish rookie Valtteri Bottas, Williams prepared the team for the 2014 season, in which the team took 3rd place in constructors with 320 points. pic.twitter.com/cCbeOfoZEu
— fredinand (@fredlons0) August 29, 2024
How much more humiliating could it get? With Ferrari struggling to deliver, Claire had the last laugh—and couldn’t resist rubbing salt in the wounds of the Prancing Horse.
“Of course, I thought about it, saying ‘Not only did we snatch the main sponsor from under your noses, but we also beat you,” Claire said.
While Williams performed reasonably well during Claire’s first few years as deputy team principal, the team’s worsening financial situation left her with no choice but to sell it. In 2020, she sold the team to private investment firm Dorilton Capital and is simply happy that the iconic Williams name remains on the grid.
