Martini to leave Williams and F1 at the end of 2018

Williams and Martini are entering the home stretch of a partnership established at the beginning of the current era of V6 turbo hybrid engines. Claire Williams confirmed this on the sidelines of the winter tests currently taking place at Barcelona.

« Martini leaves us at the end of the season, she told reporters present on site. Their contract is coming to an end. For many months, we discussed a possible extension beyond the 2018 season. They played a vital role with us over a period of five years. We felt privileged when at the end of 2013 they decided to support us even though we had just finished ninth in the Manufacturers' Championship. This underlined the confidence they had in our project. Martini withdraws not only from Williams but also from the F1 in general because the partnership was extremely successful and their objectives were achieved. This season marks 50 years of Martini Racing in the sport and we look forward to celebrating this milestone together. We can only thank them for their support. »

For its promotional needs, Martini needed to rely on drivers aged 25 or over, which was the case at Williams with the presence of Felipe Massa between 2014 and 2017. This season, however, the arrival of Sergey Sirotkin, 22 years old, alongside Lance stroll, 19 years old, came to change the situation. Williams nevertheless explains that the new duo of house drivers had no influence on Martini's choice.  

« As we entered this new year, we spoke to them about Sergey's arrival and they were very understanding and cooperative on this point.she added. For next year, this also gives us more freedom and fewer restrictions linked to the age of our drivers. »

The loss of Martini is certainly a hard blow for an independent team like Williams, especially as sporting results have declined over the last two seasons. Third in 2014 and 2015, the British team slipped to fifth in 2016 and 2017, leading to a shortfall in revenue awarded based on championship ranking. Its deputy director, however, wants to be reassuring about the financial future of the team with 9 Manufacturers' titles and 7 Drivers' titles.

« Our sales team is very pro-active and always looking for new partners, Williams concluded. Many joined us this winter (the IT company Acronis for example). Our group of associates is strong at the moment. I don't want to shout from the rooftops that we are looking for a title sponsor because that is not the ultimate goal. What matters is making sure we have the budget to do Formula 1, whether the funds come from a title sponsor or a group of partners. We'll see how things evolve this season. Everyone has access to our accounts and can see that we are currently financially stable. We're not really worried about the future beyond the upcoming campaign. »

The financial support available to Stroll and Sirotkin allows Williams to look forward to the near future without too much worry.