Williams Lose Title Sponsorship

[Teocali]

Planet F1 are reporting that AT&T haven't renewed their contract with Williams for 2012.

Guess this shows why they have been delaying driver confirmation as the budget will now have a £20m (?) shortfall.

Not the great start to a come back year they needed...

Source:
http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7407825/Willi...

[TheHeretic]

How the mighty have fallen. Still, they can make up the shortfall with a pay as you go driver.

[deadslow]

Joe Saward reckons the Qatar bank will step into the gap http://joesaward.wordpress.com/

[zaphod42]

Unlikely to have been a surprise to Williams. Contracts like this have termination clauses / expiry clauses needing months or even a year of notice to terminate (or inform of non-renewal).

So the budget will have been set some months ago - it won't be a surprise gap.

I guess they are aligning events for maximum impact now we are in the new year and avoiding slow news cycles through Dec.

[Eric Mc]

The great drain away of dosh from F1 could be beginning.

[_dobbo_]

Eric Mc said:

The great drain away of dosh from F1 could be beginning.

Could it just be that sponsoring a failing F1 team which is in financial trouble doesn't really fit with AT&T's desired image?

Or are you predicting some massive fall off in sponsorship? If so, why?

[Eric Mc]

General tightening of budgets.

[GeraldSmith]

It could be either - AT&T isn't a natural F1 sponsor given their US focus and, even if they were, perhaps not a natural Williams sponsor given the Venezuelan connections. Meanwhile if they do get a Qatari sponsor that would make sense given the Williams links with Qatar.

[Eric Mc]

The expectation must be that there are more cash rich businesses in the Middle and Far East so perhaps those parts of the world will become even more important to F1 sponsorship than it is.

Ironically, it was Williams who first tapped that market back in 1977 with their TAG/Saudia/Bin Laden sponsorship.

[Reardy Mister]

Eric Mc said:

General tightening of budgets.

I dont see this as likely to happen on a particularly grand scale. Common sense points to a tightening of budgets and (one would have predicted it for the highest levels of motorsport, as a given) but the last 3 years have proved that the rich continue to be rich and in may cases have got richer. More likely I think, is that the money will come from less traditional sources.

[MrKipling43]

No one else spot the excellent (presumably unintentional) pun in the thread title?

No? Just me then.

[Eric Mc]

MrKipling43 said:

No one else spot the excellent (presumably unintentional) pun in the thread title?

No? Just me then.

Now that you mention it

It probably fell off.

[MrKipling43]

Eric Mc said:

MrKipling43 said:

No one else spot the excellent (presumably unintentional) pun in the thread title?

No? Just me then.

Now that you mention it

It probably fell off.

Then caught fire, shortly after wiping its arse with the record books.

Williams makes me sad. And a bit angry. But mostly sad. THEN ANGRY.

[Stuck In A Lift]

MrKipling43 said:

Then caught fire, shortly after wiping its arse with the record books.

Williams makes me sad. And a bit angry. But mostly sad. THEN ANGRY.

People who don't know the difference between 'loose' and 'lose' make me angry.

[Teocali]

MrKipling43 said:

No one else spot the excellent (presumably unintentional) pun in the thread title?

No? Just me then.

I believe its customary to blame technology or the butler at this point...




I was surprised as Williams had provisionally entered the 2012 championship as "AT&T Williams" so I don't belive they had that much notice.

Link : http://www.manipef1.com/news/articles/12841/

Also Kimi seemed to be rumoured to be a package deal with QNB so when one didn't arrive I assumed neither would come.

Guess we will know in a few weeks.

[rubystone]

Won't it simply be PDVSA Williams? They knew AT & T wouldn't extend in the Autumn...which is why FW has spent the last quarter of 2011 in Qatar....

[MonkeyHanger]

Hmmm Renault engines next year isn't it?


Hello, Canon.....where are you ?

[Presuming Ed]

All rather sad you have to ask what the bloody hell the commercial department of Williams has been doing for the last few years.

[thunderbelmont]

AT&T have had to take a major look at what they do. They were looking to buy/merge with T-Mobile USA to form the largest network over there, but that's all gone Pete Tong because the Feds say they can't do it.

But as many have said, Williams will have known about this for some time, and will no doubt have plans afoot to make up the shortfall elsewhere.

A bigger question is who's going to be driving a Williams (alongside Pastor) this season? A new boy with a bucket of cash, Adrian Sutil (with some cash), or Rubens for his 20th season? Hmmmm

[zaphod42]

Presuming Ed said:

All rather sad you have to ask what the bloody hell the commercial department of Williams has been doing for the last few years.

Trying to sell a declining brand into a recession market?