Nicholas Latifi, Williams, Circuit de Catalunya, 2020

Williams to reveal new 2020 car livery after ending Rokit sponsorship deal

2020 F1 season

Posted on

| Written by and

Williams has confirmed its original livery for the 2020 F1 season will never be raced after the team terminated its deal with title sponsor Rokit.

The telecommunications company arrived as the team’s sponsor last year and later added its drinks and cities brands to the livery as well.

However Williams confirmed today it has “served notice to terminate its relationship with its title partner, Rokit, and major sponsor, Rok Drinks”. Deputy team principal Claire Williams did not divulge the reasons for the split but insisted the team “met all of our contractual obligations to Rokit.”

The team will present a new look for its FW43 before the postponed season begins. “Obviously the livery is something that we’ve got to look at,” said Williams.

“When we go racing again, hopefully in July – F1 have put a marker in the sand for the 6th of July – we will unveil our new livery before we hit the race track.”

Williams would not be drawn on whether this might involve a return to the team’s traditional dark blue and white colours.

Rokit expanded its motorsport sponsorship portfolio after beginning its tie-up with Williams. In December last year it announced a multi-year deal to brand all 20 cars in the women-only championship W Series.

A spokesperson for the series told RaceFans “Rokit continue to be very supportive of W Series and are all up to date on their sponsorship payments.”

Rokit also sponsors ex-Formula 2 racer Tatiana Calderon in Japan’s Super Formula series and brands Torque Esports’ All-Star Series, which is promoted in conjunction with The Race.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

2020 F1 season

Browse all 2020 F1 season articles

14 comments on “Williams to reveal new 2020 car livery after ending Rokit sponsorship deal”

  1. it seems weird that Willians terminated this agreement, not the other way round, given their financial state and potential sale.

    Are there any details yet? I can only presume Rokit haven’t paid them a penny yet and they want to get the new sponsor into the F1 game!

    1. Either Rokit weren’t willing to pay, probably pointing to the Corona crisis not allowing any ROI by showing off the livery @eurobrun. But also, it could well have been that the team had to either cancel now or be “stuck” with them for a longer term – which would seriously limit the options for any buyers of the team, since they then aren’t free to put their own brand on there.

    2. I don’t think it is, because that would be termination for cause, which can be effective immediately.

      However, in this instance, Claire Williams uses the term “served notice,” which implies a notice period. I’m not familiar with UK contract law, but 30 days is a common notice period. Friday was the last business day to issue that notice while still being before June 30. That date must be a milestone date for something.

      1. I should say “30 days is a common notice period where I am.”

  2. A bit of a shame since just when it looked like we got a decent livery on the Williams again, it doesn’t get to be raced. I just hope they come up with a good replacement livery.

    1. While it was an improvement on last season’s livery, I wasn’t a fan of it to be honest. It’s nice, but it doesn’t feel very Williams-ey…

      1. I have to agree it really looks cheap

  3. Such a bummer. :(

  4. Bitburger or Warsteiner need to throw some retro liveries into the hat. Late 30 somethings like myself would love that!

  5. Was this article dictated using a phone, or just not proof read?

    Obviously the livery is something that we’ve been we’ve got to look at

    we will unveil on you liveried before we hit the race track

  6. The team will present a new look for its FW43 before the postponed season begins.

    So how would this affect Codemaster’s 2020 version of their F1 game?

    1. They’ll update it with a patch if it’s already ‘gone gold’. Not sure of the release date?

  7. John Edwards
    30th May 2020, 12:08

    Can’t say I’ll miss that scheme, it looked like a tube of Aquafresh toothpaste.

    This is not the time to try and sell an f1 team.

Comments are closed.