Williams will be sponsored by the Financial Times starting with the 2019 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Williams Formula 1 team will be sponsored by the Financial Times in a multi-year deal beginning with this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The FT logo will appear on the inside rear wing endplate of the Williams FW42 for the remainder of this season. The newspaper has never sponsored an F1 team before.

“I am delighted to announce the Financial Times as an Official Partner to Williams,” said team boss Claire Williams. 

“In only a few short years, the landscape for marketing and brand exposure has changed significantly for all sports, including Formula 1. The opportunity to collaborate with the FT to embrace these new forms of media and digital opportunities is hugely exciting for both our team and our existing partners, and I am looking forward to seeing how the partnership develops.”

The FT reports a million paying readers, more than 65 per cent of which are digital subscribers with revenues of £383 million in 2018, while Williams made £130.7m in revenue last year. The team sits last in the 2019 constructors’ championship behind Toro Rosso.

“This is a hugely exciting partnership between two iconic British brands, both operating globally and at the forefront of their respective fields,” said FT commercial marketing director David Buttle, FT Global Commercial Marketing Director.

“The innovative structure of this deal will both extend the FT’s brand and bring together complementary commercial assets and capabilities.”