Claire Williams has revealed that Ferrari wrote a furious letter to Martini after the Williams F1 team “stole” the sponsor back in 2014.

Williams announced a multi-year agreement Martini ahead of the 2014 season, with the alcohol brand becoming the team’s title partner.

Claire Williams recalls Ferrari fury over Martini F1 2014 deal

The partnership saw one of the most recognisable liveries in the history of motorsport return to F1, with Williams running a predominantly white colour scheme, featuring the famous red and blue stripes of Martini, for the following five seasons until the end of 2018.

Zak Brown, the current McLaren chief executive, is believed to have been one of the key drivers behind the Williams-Martini link up, having carved out a successful career as a marketing guru before taking a senior role in F1 in late 2016.

The Martini deal coincided with the introduction of F1’s V6-hybrid engines, with Williams enjoying their most successful season for some time in 2014 by finishing third in the Constructors’ standings – only behind Red Bull and Mercedes, the runaway champions.

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In a recent appearance on the What It Takes With Olly Fawcett podcast, Williams has revealed that Martini was on the verge of signing a deal with Ferrari before the promise of a full livery rebrand swayed the sponsor towards Grove.

And she claimed that Ferrari were so angered by the snub that they wrote a letter to Martini, warning the sponsor that it would be in the “rear-view mirrors” of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen in 2014.

Ferrari went on to suffer their first winless season since 1993, finishing 104 points behind Williams in the Constructors’ Championship.

Williams said: “I was really proud that I got that contract at the time, because Martini was about to sign a deal with Ferrari.

“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 pissed 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.’”

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Williams’ comments come after the team confirmed Atlassian, the Australian software company, as their new title partner for the F1 2025 season.

It marks Williams’ first title sponsor deal under the ownership of Dorilton Capital, which purchased the team from the Williams family in 2020.

The team, who have been rebranded Atlassian Williams Racing for the new season, have described the deal as ‘the biggest partnership deal in Williams’ 48-year history’ and ‘another vote of confidence in the team’s comeback plan to transform and deliver future World Championship success.’

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

“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.”

Williams will field a revised driver lineup of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon this year, with the former arriving after a successful four-year stint with Ferrari.

Sainz was quickly followed by Spanish bank Santander, which was confirmed as a new Williams sponsor 24 hours after last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix having backed Ferrari for the previous three years.

Williams are set to launch their new car for the F1 2025 season at Silverstone, the home of F1’s British Grand Prix, on Friday.

The unveiling of the FW47 will occur four days before F1’s first-ever collective season-launch event in London, where all 10 teams and 20 drivers will be in attendance.

Williams will present the FW47 in a special one-off livery at Silverstone, with teams understood to be forbidden from showcasing their permanent F1 2025 colour schemes before the official season launch at the O2 Arena on February 18.

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