For four seasons, the Martini-liveried Williams was one of the most visually striking cars on the Formula 1 grid. But according to Claire Williams, that partnership almost never happened—because Ferrari was set to lock down the deal before Williams swooped in and stole it right from under them.
And Ferrari? They were furious.
The Martini Deal That Left Ferrari Fuming
In 2014, Williams Racing was searching for a major title sponsor. The team had endured a rough few years, struggling in the lower half of the Constructors’ standings. Meanwhile, Ferrari was closing in on a deal with Martini, the legendary Italian drinks brand.
Then, in a bold move, Claire Williams convinced Martini to ditch Ferrari and join Williams instead.
“I was really proud that I got that contract at the time because Martini was about to sign a deal with Ferrari,” she revealed on the What It Takes With Olly Fawcett podcast.
Why did Martini choose Williams over Ferrari? It all came down to creative freedom.
“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?’”
That pitch worked—and just like that, Williams secured one of the most famous sponsorships in modern F1 history.
Ferrari’s Fiery Response: “We’ll See You in Our Rear-View Mirrors”
Losing out on Martini sponsorship was bad enough for Ferrari. But when the Williams-Mercedes partnership flourished in 2014, things got even worse for the Scuderia.
Ferrari made their anger known, sending a not-so-subtle letter to Martini after the deal was finalized:
“Ferrari were pissed off because they thought we’d stolen their sponsorship,” Claire Williams recalled.
“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.’”
The irony? Williams ended up beating Ferrari in 2014.
Sweet Revenge: Williams Finishes Ahead of Ferrari
Before the V6 hybrid era, Williams had struggled, finishing below sixth place in the Constructors’ standings for four straight seasons. But in 2014, powered by Mercedes’ dominant engine, Williams had a resurgence.
“Williams finished third in the Constructors’ behind Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, ahead of Ferrari, mind you,” Claire said, relishing the moment.
“And, yes, of course, it went through my head: ‘We didn’t just snatch the title sponsor from under your noses, we beat you.’”
Ferrari’s “rear-view mirror” comment suddenly didn’t age so well.
Williams held onto third place again in 2015, before dropping off in 2018—the same year Martini left the team.
Williams in 2025: A New Era Begins with Carlos Sainz
Since the Martini era, Williams has struggled to regain its past glory, but the 2023 season saw a resurgence, finishing 7th in the Constructors’ standings. Now, Carlos Sainz joins the team from Ferrari, hoping to bring Williams back up the grid.
The FW47 will be unveiled at Silverstone this Friday, and fans will see the new livery featuring Atlassian sponsorship at F1’s season launch on February 18 in London.
While the Martini stripes may be a thing of the past, Williams is still playing the long game—just like they did when they stole Ferrari’s deal in 2014.
And if history repeats itself, Ferrari might just want to check their rear-view mirrors again.