Last Updated on February 12 2019, 1:27 pm
Just a quick one, TJ13 understands that despite Williams being one of the first to launch their car livery for 2019, significant supplier difficulties may mean the team has to cancel a filming day planned for Saturday.
Yesterday we saw the Williams in their white and blue title sponsor livery having signed a deal with emerging British-based telecommunications company ROKiT.
ROKiT has been described as a “new telco brand challenging the status quo, offering premium smartphone technology, performance and design at an affordable price and installing innovative wifi networks to make the world a better place”.
“ROKiT is on an exciting journey in their world of telecommunications, as we are at Williams as we build the team for a successful future.” said Claire Williams.
There has been raised eyebrows over the new deal. Founder and entrepreneur Jonathan Kendricks ROKiT brand is almost certainly a startup company with questionable backing so it seems that Williams is chasing whatever they can get after losing a near-certain deal with Rich Energy to Haas. The irony being that Rich Energy is also raising eyebrows when it comes to convincing finances.
In a rather awkward interview with Racefans.net, Claire explained how she secured the backing of Kendrick, by the use of an HP bottle of sauce.
“Jonathan is a big fan of HP sauce,” said Williams. “And he said to me when he was flying in, ‘I’m going to need a bacon roll with some HP sauce’.
“That first meeting there was a bottle of HP signed by both our racing drivers. And I think the deal was pretty much done then.”
Kendrick goes on to speak about his past relationship with Williams F1 team.
“I was a Goodyear tyre engineer when I was 20 years old in Wolverhampton,” he said.
“All Goodyear racing tyres for Formula 1 were made in Wolverhampton, where I was born. And in 1978 they sent me out to look after the new team in Buenos Aires
“And quite remarkably I was the tyre engineer for Alan Jones and Frank at the first race in Argentina. And 41 years later here I am as the title sponsor. It’s a dream come true and I’m very proud to be sat here.”
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
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