Williams and Gulf let fans create a wordy F1 livery

Williams and Gulf Oil have launched a new campaign inviting fans around the world to help design a one-off Formula 1 livery for this year’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

Unveiled at a special event in London’s Piccadilly Circus, the Driven by Words campaign puts fans quite literally at the heart of the creative process. Instead of voting on colours or patterns, supporters are asked to submit words that best express what Williams and Gulf mean to them.

These submissions — expressions of support, pride, love, and passion — will be woven into a bespoke livery that blends bold typography with Gulf’s iconic blue-and-orange colours. The unique design will be featured on the FW47 of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz during the Sao Paulo race in November.

The campaign was presented by Gulf Oil International CEO Mike Jones at the Williams Fan Zone, joined by team principal James Vowles and driver Alex Albon, just days before the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Starting immediately, fans can submit up to five words per day via the official websites of Williams or Gulf, with entries open until 25 August. Submissions are welcome in any language, reflecting the global reach of the team’s fanbase. For both Williams and Gulf, the initiative is about strengthening the emotional connection between team and supporters.

Driven by Words builds on the success of the 2023 Gulf x Williams Fan Livery Vote, which drew over 180,000 votes and resulted in the award-winning Bolder than Bold design, featured in Singapore, Japan, and Qatar.

The Williams Racing and Gulf logos

Photo by: Lionel Ng / Motorsport Images

When asked by Autosport Business what word he plans to submit, Albon replied: “Susu. In my home country, Thailand, ‘susu’ is how you say ‘good luck’ or ‘go go’. It’s a little like ‘let’s go’, or ‘vamos’ in Spanish.”

Vowles added: “I’ll be submitting words, but ‘heritage’ is a great one for me. It symbolises both organisations. I really like it because it fits me. I remember Gulf from years ago as a representation of motorsport as a whole. And you can see it all around us in the coming weeks — the running of heritage cars at Goodwood and elsewhere. It’s in our DNA.”

Looking back on Gulf’s decision to partner with Williams in 2023, Jones reflected: “It was a bit of a risk for us, because Williams were at the bottom at that moment. But we knew Dorilton would make the necessary investment, we knew James Vowles was coming in, and we felt this was a team that could really climb back to the top. What struck us was that we shared the same values and ambition. That’s why we’ve started this long-term partnership.

“We’re sort of where we thought we’d be. Of course, every sponsor wants their team on the podium, but we recognise that in any top-flight sport, it’s a journey. In terms of progress, we’re in good shape — as you can see from the driver signings and everything else going forward. We really believe that in the next couple of years they’ll be challenging for podiums.”

Jones also noted that Gulf’s one-off liveries are positively received by the team’s wider sponsor group: “Williams coordinate with all their partners. But honestly, the exposure other sponsors get when we do a livery is probably 10 times what they’d receive on a normal weekend. So I don’t think anyone objects — I think they actually like it.”

“I’ll tell you this too, when we did a livery with McLaren back in 2021, Coca-Cola was a sponsor, and one of their board members called me and said, ‘We didn’t even know you sponsored McLaren until you had the Gulf livery!’ I took that as a pretty big compliment.”