Williams F1 have resumed another legal battle with their former title sponsor ROKiT. However, this time it’s their former sponsor who has lodged a hefty $149 Million lawsuit against the Grove-based constructor.
ROKiT has blamed the British legacy racing outfit for making tall promises of delivering a competitive car for the 2019 season. Along with the team, their former Team Principal Claire Williams, former CEO Mike O’Driscoll, and former CFO Doug Lafferty have been named as defendants.
The suit comes after Williams was victorious in a case against ROKiT for breach of contract. The case was closed in December 2022 and the team received $33 Million in payment from former sponsors.
Why is ROKiT suing Williams F1?
ROKiT has filed a case against the Williams F1 team in the US District Court Southern District of Florida. According to the technology conglomerate, Williams “fraudulent statements” regarding their 2019 car.
ROKiT alleges that Williams, who was in financial distress, needed to find sponsors to operate in the 2019 F1 season. The British team lured in ROKiT and assured them that their 2019 car, the FW42 would be competitive.
Williams also told they had hired Paddy Lowe from Mercedes as their Chief Technical Officer. Lowe was critical in Mercedes’s success in the turbo-hybrid era and designed the FW42.
However, Lowe left Williams in the middle of the 2019 season. The FW42 was a major disappointment as it regularly featured at the back of the F1 grid. The team secured only a single point in the entire season, coming from Robert Kubica finishing P10 in the 2019 German GP.
ROKiT signed a 3-year deal with Williams at the start of the 2019 season. However, the team pulled the plug ahead of the delayed start of the 2020 season. This move was challenged by the F1 team in their most recent lawsuit.
ROKiT claims the poor performance of the FW42 was concealed from them. As a result, they claimed, they “suffered significant financial loss and damage to their goodwill and business reputation”
Williams denies allegations by ROKiT
ROKiT co-founder and chairman Jonathan Kendrick believe he has a case against Williams F1 this time. He even claims the team wrongfully sued them in 2020 after a dispute regarding sponsorship fees.
Kendrick said, “Before we signed it, we asked exactly those questions in front of my board. What is the state of the car? And what is the state of the development? And we were told X, Y, and Z, and it was never true.”
He added, “The warrants and the commitments that were given by the board to us could never, ever have been fulfilled. It just simply was not true. If you remember they turned up in Barcelona because they hadn’t got the money to do it.”
ROKiT pulled out of sponsorship with Williams ahead of the 2020 season. Due to the pandemic, the start of the season was delayed and differences rose between the two regarding payments.
Subsequently, after a trimmed calendar was announced, ROKiT agreed to pay a portion of the fees. Ultimately the Williams announced the departure of their title sponsor. It took legal action against the company for unpaid fees and was awarded $33 Million in compensation.
Williams F1 has deemed the allegations of ROKiT to be “spurious.” The British F1 has assured full compliance with the court on all legal preceding on this matter.
