The long-standing Williams Racing team is in dire straits right now. In the middle of the pandemic-induced Formula One shutdown, the team is earning very little money, and it recently parted ways with title sponsor Rokit. Things are tough for all of the teams, but Williams has also had a handful of years with piss-poor performance to make matters worse. And on top of all that, it has unveiled a largely very boring black/white/blue livery for the remainder of the 2020 season.
The new-look Williams isn’t offensive, by any means, but it certainly fades into the background. I’d much rather see teams with polarizing liveries on the grid than forgettable ones. And if Williams needs anything right now, it’s to be noticed on television broadcasts of races. There is no better way to get noticed than by making a statement.
When Rokit and Williams announced their split last month, the press releases used verbiage that made it seem quite amicable, and that Williams would be doing just fine without the mobile phones/energy drink/beer/music devices company on its side. Now, though, rumor has it that RoKit actually left because it was looking to switch teams. After one season with Williams, the team which placed last in the championship for 2019, RoKit is jumping ship to join the champions, Mercedes. Mercedes will not confirm that this is the case yet, but it is being widely reported as true. Poor Williams. Can’t catch a break.
The Williams FW43 has had its red accents removed and not much else has changed with this livery. And while other teams have introduced several updates packages since the 2020 season “began” back at the cancelled Australia round in March, George Russel and Nicholas Latifi are unlikely to notice any differences in their cars when the season actually gets to racing in early July. You know, aside from the missing title sponsor and their new de-redded race suits.
I really hope that this new cost cap for F1 helps turn around the Williams team’s results, because it deserves better than it has shown in 2018 and 2019. It would be true justice to see Williams come out of the gate swinging and beat the RoKit-sponsored Mercedes, but we all know that shit ain’t gonna happen.
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