The billionaire and bigger picture behind Nissany's Williams deal

When Williams announced at the end of last season that Roy Nissany would test in Abu Dhabi, the cynics were quick to suggest that this was the simple exercise of a team at the back of the grid using any opportunity it could to boost its income.

After all, selling track time for some sponsorship cash is hardly a new tactic used by Formula 1 teams up and down the grid.

Given Nissany sat out racing last year because of injury, following a disappointing 2018 Formula 2 campaign where his best result was a single 10th-place finish, he certainly wasn't on anyone's radar as a serious candidate to burst on to the F1 scene on pure talent alone.

But things moved on from the Abu Dhabi test, and earlier this week it was announced that Nissany will become Williams's official test driver and take part in three FP1 sessions this year. He will also get guidance and help from the Williams Driver Academy to develop as a driver.

Sure, there are direct commercial factors behind the arrangement (not much comes free in F1!), but dig a little deeper into the background of the Nissany deal, and where it puts Williams, and you can sense a bigger picture being at play here.

That much became clear at the official announcement of the Nissany deal in Israel earlier this week. This wasn't some stale press conference of forced-handshake photographs, and people caring more about the quality of the canapes and drinks than what was being said on stage.

Instead, it was an event where there was some genuine enthusiasm from local media and guests about what was happening.

Having an Israeli driver get such an opportunity in F1 - 15 years on from a very different experience with Nissany's father Chanoch's infamous Minardi run in Hungary - brought with it a buzz of excitement.

To have the well-known Chemi Peres, the son of former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres, take to the stage to explain how much this deal meant to Israel, was the perfect proof of this.

But perhaps of more interest to F1 and Williams, was that sitting up alongside Claire Williams was Nissany's key backer, Sylvan Adams.

It's clear the link with Nissany opens up the potential for big opportunities in the future, especially as Adams has ambitions of taking the 25-year-old to an F1 race seat

He is a Canadian-born billionaire property developer, who has shot to fame for his sporting ventures in Israel and his efforts to promote the country. When he emigrated from Canada, he says he changed his business cards to the title 'Self-appointed ambassador-at-large for Israel'.

As a keen cycling fan, Adams has transformed that sport in Israel - helping fund cycling paths and building the Middle East's first Velodrome in Tel Aviv, which is named after him. He also helped fund and put together the deal that brought the start of the 2018 Giro d'Italia to Israel - the first time it had taken place outside of Europe. He was duly named the event's Honorary President that year.

More recently, Adams has funded the Israel Cycling Academy team, which for the first time in 2020 will take part in the Tour de France. It will be sponsored by the non-profit Israel Start-up Nation, the logos of which will also appear on the Williams F1 car at the events Nissany participates in.

The cycling/F1 crossover does not end there, though, as there will be joint marketing and product-development projects carried out between the cycling team and Williams as part of their new deal.

Coincidentally, it was at a cycling event that Nissany - who is friends with professionals Guy Sagiv and Guy Niv - first met Adams.

"I happened to meet this young man, Roy," recalls Adams. "He came actually to one of our cycling events where we were presenting. I met this impressive young man who told me about a little bit about his racing career. And I guess one thing led to another and here we are..."

Adams is clearly an ambitious man who is not afraid to dig into his pockets to succeed - it's reported that he spent tens of millions of pounds of his own money to secure the Giro d'Italia start.

With F1 now on his radar, it's clear that his link with Nissany opens up the potential for big opportunities in the future, especially as Adams has ambitions of taking the 25-year-old all the way to an F1 race seat.

"The fast-track plan here is for Roy to be an actual F1 driver as early as 2021," said Adams. "Of course he has a few hurdles to accomplish before he is selected to be one of the two drivers, but remember, this is one of the most exclusive sports in the world.

"I know how hard Williams is working to climb back to the top. And I know with the best talent in the industry, both on the engineering side and now on the test driver side, that they will have every chance of getting getting back there.

"So to see the Israeli flag on the car and Roy being beamed to 350-400 million TV viewers, every couple of weeks, is going to be quite something. And I'm getting goosebumps even talking about it."

A 2021 race seat would certainly seem a tad over-optimistic though, because F1's superlicence rules mean that Nissany will need to finish at least third overall in F2 with Trident this year to achieve that.

"He seems to be an extraordinary individual and I know he has clear ambitions about what he wants to achieve. The first step is bringing an Israeli driver into F1" Claire Williams on Sylvan Adams

His previous record indicates such form is unlikely, which would mean a third or even fourth season in the category to secure what he needs to move up.

Adams is realistic enough to know what Nissany's situation is though, and what Williams is facing in its recovery. He hopes any race seat for Nissany can coincide with an eventual return to form for Williams - which is why he views this as the start of a long-term partnership.

But don't think he is about to get the cheque book out and spend all he has to achieve that target. He was certainly pretty quick to brush off any suggestion of doing what fellow Canadian Lawrence Stroll did in going as far as buying a team.

Asked if he would consider 'doing a Stroll', Adams said: "It's very exciting that Williams had confidence in Roy. And I can say that I have confidence in Williams and this absolutely iconic team that has had so much success in the sport.

"We are planning this as a long-term relationship. So, no F1 teams for me. I'm happy. I'm happy to be part of the Williams family."

For a squad in the situation that Williams is in, coming off the back of one of its most challenging periods, having someone like Adams in the background, and interested in helping it move forward, is certainly no bad thing.

Deputy team principal Claire Williams was asked several times at the Nissany event about how the tie-up with Adams could evolve in the future. But she repeatedly said that these were early days.

"The focus is on the here and now," she said. "We've just met him. He seems to be an extraordinary individual, and I know that he has very clear ambitions what he wants for his country and what he wants to achieve. The first step of that is bringing an Israeli driver into F1.

"That's a very proud moment for us that we helped him to realise that. And I think regarding any future conversations, we are very grateful for the support that he's brought to this point. And let's focus on that."

What is clear though is that there is potential here, and this is about far more than just track time at three F1 events.

It's a deal about helping Nissany to develop as a driver, building a long-term plan and potentially opening up new doors and a new frontiers for F1. And all of those will only bring good things for Williams.