F1: ROKiT Files $149m Claim Against Williams For Damage To Its Reputation

Williams’ ex-title sponsor ROKiT has filed a $149 million claim from the British team. The claim is filed on the grounds of damage to its reputation, which resulted from “fraudulent” performance claims by Williams that the team’s 2019 car “was never capable of” hitting.

The case has been filed in the United States District Court - Southern District of Florida last week, against Williams Grand Prix Engineering, as well as the team’s former deputy team principal Claire Williams, team’s former CEO Mike O’Driscoll, and former chief finance officer Doug Lafferty.

In a response to the case, Williams contended that the claim brought against it was “spurious”, as it won its arbitration case against ROKiT in 2021 over missing payments. Williams was awarded more than £26 million in the case.

ROKiT was the team’s title sponsor for the 2019 Formula 1 season. The company was also set to sponsor Williams for the 2020 season, and Williams also unveiled a Formula 1 car with ROKiT livery early in 2020. But the partnership was terminated before the start of the season, which was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The termination came at the same time as the announcement that the family-owned team was being sold to Dorilton Capital - an American investment firm - later that year.