Williams Racing has announced the "biggest partnership deal" in its near-50-year existence. The Grove-based outfit has a rich history in Formula 1 but has struggled in recent years. Now led by former Mercedes strategy chief James Vowles, the team is in the midst of an overhaul of its entire operation in a bid to awaken the sport's sleeping giants. And Williams has now received a significant financial boost to its plans. Software company Atlassian has been confirmed at the team's official technology partner but also, and more crucially, its title sponsor.
It means the squad will go into the 2025 season officially known as Atlassian Williams Racing. It is the first time the team has had a title sponsor since the takeover of current owners Dorilton Capital, which was completed in August 2020. When announcing the deal on Tuesday, which had already been leaked through a social media post showing new driver Carlos Sainz in his 2025 kit, the team confirmed the multi-year collaboration with Atlassian is "the biggest partnership deal in Williams’ 48-year history".
And team principal Vowles said: "I am delighted to welcome Atlassian into Formula 1 and our evolution into Atlassian Williams Racing. Attracting a title partnership of this size and significance is a momentous day in our team's illustrious history and a major milestone in our comeback transformation. "We are putting in place all the right ingredients to get this team back to the front of the grid, and in Atlassian we have a partner that through its technology and tools will help unleash our full potential by improving teamwork and collaboration right across the organisation. Our values and ambition align perfectly, and I'm excited about what we can achieve together.".
Williams finish seventh in the 2023 season, Vowles' first in charge, which represented a marked improvement on what they had achieved in previous years. However, last year they slipped back down to ninth as a spate of expensive crashes proved costly in a sporting sense as well as from a financial perspective. Speaking to Mirror Sport, Vowles was still very upbeat about Williams' future. He said: "There's some elements that are not going as fast as I'd like them to be and there's some elements that are moving faster than I expected them to be. That's the nature of changing about a thousand people within an organisation.
"What I can say is there's some good things coming next year and some really good things coming in 2026, so that's a sign that we're on a good track. It’s looking good, but you’ve got nine other teams trying to do the same.". Catch all the action from Formula One on Sky Sports and get exclusive access to races, qualifying and much more for every Grand Prix. From Max Verstappen to Lewis Hamilton, you won't miss a lap on Sky Sports.
