F1 News: Williams to receive £26 million after legal victory against a former sponsor
Williams will receive just over £26 million from their former sponsors 'ROKiT' after winning a crucial legal battle against the American company.
Despite a sequence of solid results in 2021 (Russell's podium, double points in Hungary), Williams has struggled to stay afloat in Formula 1 in recent seasons.
The British squad's financial situation has been precarious for some time, with former team principal Claire Williams spending many years trying to secure sponsorship for the team.
Eventually, Williams was forced to sell the team to Dorilton Capital - facing the harsh realities of their increasingly unhealthy balance sheet.
In an effort to support the team during its financial struggles - before the recent takeover by Dorilton Capital - Williams agreed to a sponsorship deal with ROKiT ahead of 2019.
The Grove-based team's desperation to secure sponsorship was evident in the 2019 and 2020 campaigns, signing Robert Kubica and then Nicholas Latifi to secure much-needed financial injections.
Nicholas Latifi's multi-year stint at Williams is clear evidence of the team's instability in previous seasons.
Returning to the issue of the sponsorship agreement with Rokit and Williams, Rokit pulled out of its three-year contract with the team after just one season.
Rokit withheld the payments it owed Williams for the remainder of their contract, which eventually saw the team take the case to court in search of arbitration.
It has been clear for some time now that the Grove-based team was in Pole Position to win this case, and the California court has confirmed this.
The final judgement of the California court is that Williams will receive a total of £26,220,094.25 from ROKiT to settle this dispute.
Whilst Dorilton Capital's ownership of Williams has already provided the team with financial security, this final judgement will be welcome news to the British squad all the same.