In May, the Williams Formula 1 team called on its fans to vote on four design variants for a planned special paint finish for the FW45. Now the winner is certain. The “Bolder Than Bold” design won the race.
The variant won in fan voting against the three other finishes “Contemporary”, “Visionary” and “Heritage”. All staged the Williams in the blue and orange colors of sponsor Gulf in a slightly different way. The Formula 1 team and the oil company have been working together since this year.
When the partnership was announced, Gulf was open to a complete repaint of the FW45 later this season. As a result, Williams sent the four design variants into the race and let the fans decide. According to Williams, a total of 180,000 votes were received.
The winning livery will be used three times: it will adorn the cars of Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant at the Grands Prix in Singapore, Japan and Qatar. Before that happens, visitors to the Goodwood Festival of Speed will be able to admire the Gulf look at the Williams from July 13th to 16th in the form of a show car.
“This competition was an incredible opportunity for our fans to actively participate and shape our team’s visual identity,” said Williams team principal James Vowles.
“The winning design captures the essence of the partnership between Gulf and Williams Racing, reflecting on the past while building on our future. This livery will be a defining moment when the team hits the track later in the season. “
“The campaign was a great success”
Mike Jones, CEO of Gulf Oil International, added: “The campaign was a huge success and generated excitement among both Gulf and Williams fans. Giving fans the power to control this competition has had a huge impact on the results .”
“Gulf’s iconic colors have resulted in four incredible liveries from which fans have voted the winner ‘Bolder than Bold’ which will now go down in Gulf’s rich motorsport history.”
The last race to feature a Gulf-only livery was the Monaco Grand Prix two years ago, when McLaren raced in the marque’s livery. The two had a long-term partnership. However, at the end of 2022, the joint contract was not renewed and Gulf switched to Williams.