Claire Williams has revealed how Ferrari was left incensed by Williams securing a sponsorship deal with Martini for the 2014 Formula 1 season.
The British team adorned the blue and red racing stripes associated with the Italian drinks brand on its car for four years until 2018.
However, the former deputy team of the Grove-based outfit has opened up on how Ferrari was also in talks with Martini over a major sponsorship deal.
“I was really proud that I got that contract at the time, because Martini was about to sign a deal with Ferrari,” she explained on the What It Takes With Olly Fawcett podcast.
The 48-year-old went on to recall how Williams was able to offer Martini more freedom and expression with its livery design than the Scuderia.
“The Ferrari livery is the Ferrari livery, and you can’t really play around with it,” Claire explained.
“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, Martini opted to partner with Williams and the iconic livery was born with a predominantly white colour scheme incorporated with striking blue and red stripes.
This infuriated Ferrari, who didn’t hide its emotions very well according to Claire.
“Ferrari were pissed off because they thought we’d stolen their sponsorship,” she said.
“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.’”
Ferrari regrets bitter response
Before the V6 hybrid era, Williams had endured a rough time since 2010, finishing below sixth place in the Constructors’ standings for four consecutive seasons.
In 2014, the team’s fortunes changed as it secured a third-place finish, to the delight of the former motorsport executive.
“Williams finished third in the Constructors’ behind Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, ahead of Ferrari, mind you,” Claire proudly recounted.
“And, yes, of course, it went through my head: ‘We didn’t just snatch the title sponsor from under your noses, we beat you.’”
Williams went on to secure another third-place finish the year after before dropping back down to 10th in 2018.
Since Martini and Williams parted ways, the best finish for the iconic racing team came back in 2023 – when Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant helped the side to a seventh-place finish.
Ahead of the 2025 season, Carlos Sainz makes the switch from Ferrari to Williams, to partner alongside Albon in the FW47.
Its 2025 contender will be unveiled this Friday at Silverstone, but fans will have to wait to see the brand-spanking new livery, featuring new title partner Atlassian, on February 18 during F1’s season launch at London’s O2 Arena.
READ MORE: Williams announces record F1 title sponsorship deal with Atlassian
