Why Martini did not become a Ferrari sponsor in 2014

(Motorsport-Total.com) - On the racetrack, Formula 1 teams battle for positions and points – and after the finish line, for the best sponsors. This is illustrated by an episode from the 2014 Formula 1 season , in which Williams, the ninth-place team from the previous year, secured a prominent advertising partner.

"The Italian drinks manufacturer Martini was close to signing a deal with Ferrari at the time," explains former Williams team boss Claire Williams in the podcast "What it takes" .

At some point, however, negotiations stalled: "I think Martini wanted more than Ferrari was willing to offer them," says Claire Williams. "Ferrari design is Ferrari design, and you can't really tinker with it."

How Williams came into play at Martini

Williams, on the other hand, was looking for a new title sponsor and was willing to tailor the look of its car to this new partner. In other words: "We offered them the complete design of our race car."

What's more, Williams even provided the design proposal for Martini. "We said to them, 'Why don't you bring back the distinctive Martini stripes and stick them on our car? Look, we've already prepared what that could look like. And it looks really great, doesn't it?'"

The homage to the look of Brabham cars from the 1970s ( photo gallery: Legendary Formula 1 designs ) or Alfa Romeo's DTM racing cars from the 1990s convinced Martini: It dropped Ferrari and, starting in 2014, began advertising on the now almost entirely white Williams cars. Looking back, Claire Williams says, this makes her "really proud."

Ferrari hits back at Martini

"Most fans agreed that our 2014 design looked really nice, but Ferrari was furious," says Claire Williams. "Because Ferrari thought we had stolen their sponsorship."

The long-established Italian Formula 1 team is said to have even reacted bitterly. "They wrote a letter to Martini saying: 'Now that you're supporting Williams, we'll see you in the rearview mirror next season!'"

The satisfaction at Williams was correspondingly great when the English private team finished third in the World Championship at the end of the 2014 season – ahead of Ferrari. Claire Williams admits: "Of course, the thought that went through my mind was: 'Not only did we snatch the title sponsor from under your nose, we also beat you!'"

However, Williams's upswing didn't last long: after finishing third in the 2014 and 2015 seasons, the team slipped to fifth place, which it also held in 2017. In 2018, the Martini contract in Formula 1 expired - and Williams finished last in the Constructors' Championship, just as it did in the following two years.