F1 2019: Williams' new look as new chapter begins 2:29 Claire Williams speaks to Sky Sports News as Williams unveil their new car for the 2019 season. Claire Williams speaks to Sky Sports News as Williams unveil their new car for the 2019 season. Williams have unveiled a revised look for 2019 with the sport's one-time dominant team eyeing a dramatic renaissance in fortunes this year. While Williams' actual 2019 car, the FW42, is being kept under wraps until the opening day of winter testing on February 18, the reveal of this season's livery at their Grove factory effectively opens what they hope will be a new chapter for the team. Along with the new black, white and blue colour scheme, the team also revealed a new title partner - ROKiT, a global telecommunications company. Welcome to the world @rokitofficial Williams Racing! pic.twitter.com/7zUZEKk6Hn — ROKiT WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) February 11, 2019 "If he didn't like it he probably would have fired me!" quipped deputy team principal Claire Williams when asked what her team-owning father, Sir Frank Williams, thought of the break with livery tradition. The nine-time constructors' champions finished bottom of the standings for the first time in their illustrious history in 2018 with just seven points - a slump which has prompted widespread changes at the team. Reaction: Williams look to the future The full F1 2019 launch schedule 2019 calendar: When and where the races are "Last year was very tough for us," said deputy team boss Claire Williams. "It's soul-destroying for any team to feel that way. "But we have lost pretty much nobody from our race team over the winter and I think that tells you the strength we have at Williams. "None of us want to go through what we went through in 2018. Our target has to be to make progress." Williams continued: "A team doesn't go from P5 to P10 without some area of weakness. We've done a lot of work, but it's a journey and a pathway. It won't be until Australia until we really see where we are. "Paddy Lowe [technical chief] has undertaken a huge amount of work to make sure we have the right people in the right jobs. I firmly believe we have great resources and we need to make sure we are using it in the right way." The FW42, the second car Lowe, formerly of Mercedes, has overseen, will be fired up this week before being officially revealed at pre-season testing in Barcelona. Can Kubica and Russell help reverse Williams' slide? In one of F1 2019's most exciting and intriguing match-ups, the returning Robert Kubica partners English youngster and F2 champion George Russell - the first Briton to drive for Williams full-time since Jenson Button during his own rookie year in 2000. Kubica, meanwhile, completes his astounding return to an F1 race seat eight years after sustaining severe hand and arm injuries in a rallying accident. The 34-year-old Pole served as the team's reserve driver in 2018. "They are going to be really exciting to watch," Williams exclaimed. "We have gone through a lot of transformation over the last few months. This is next-gen Williams. George and Robert are really the essence of next-gen Williams." Russell is only on a short leash from world champions Mercedes as a highly-rated product of their young driver academy, but the 20-year-old insisted: "It's not going to happen overnight, but I'm in this for the long haul. "My aim is to help build this team as well."<doc-sep>Williams Racing announced Tuesday that it has taken on Rokit as a title sponsor and altered the livery for its FW42 to reflect a new era in the team's history. From 2014 through 2018, Williams' title sponsor was vermouth manufacturer Martini, though the company chose to discontinue its title sponsorship after a competitive decline since 2014. Martini is replaced by smartphone manufacturer Rokit, which seeks to combine telecom services with healthcare and insurance. In ridding itself of Martini and the associated livery, Williams' livery redesign could signal a new era of competitiveness for the historic team, the third-oldest in F1. Buoyed by a dominant Mercedes engine, a low-drag aero philosophy, and a best-in-field set of gear ratios, the British team enjoyed a status as third-best in 2014 but has since slipped back down the order, finishing dead last in the 2018 World Constructors' Championship. Rokit Williams Racing Aerodynamic problems and drivers of questionable quality were to blame for the team's difficult 2018, though Chief Technical Officer Paddy Lowe told Speedweek in December that the team has already completed its technical "turnaround." If Lowe's claim is correct, Williams will not only have a more competitive car but also drivers viewed in higher regard than the outgoing Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin. 2018 FIA Formula 2 champion George Russell will race his rookie season with Williams alongside fan favorite and Grand Prix winner Robert Kubica, whose Ferrari-bound F1 career was sidelined after a serious rally crash in early 2011 nearly severed part of his right arm.<doc-sep>Williams have claimed a combined 16 driver and team titles, but have not won a grand prix since 2012 Frank Williams likes the paint job on his Formula 1 team's new cars - which is fortunate for daughter and deputy team principal Claire, who says she would have been fired if he hadn't. Williams have switched from their traditional navy-and-white colour scheme to sky blue and white for 2019. It is one part of a new era for a team without a grand prix win since 2012. "Frank loved it, and you might be surprised to hear that," Claire said. "I was a little nervous presenting it." The British outfit, founded by Frank more than 40 years ago, have won a combined 16 driver and team titles but finished bottom in the constructors' championship last season. Williams' new title partner, telecommunications company ROKiT, is expected to add substantial investment to a team that will begin the season with British rookie George Russell alongside Robert Kubica, who is back on the grid for the first time after a crash eight years ago. "We are telling the world a very clear story and clear message as to where we are as a company," added Claire, who said moving away from the team's traditional colours shows they are a "fresh, revitalised brand". "Frank is very protective of the traditional navy blue and white, but also understanding of the arguments behind the change. "He is fully behind it. I am still here, and if he didn't like it, he would have fired me." Reigning Formula 2 champion Russell makes the step up to F1 with Williams this season after a year as Lewis Hamilton's understudy at Mercedes. "It is important to try and build a great relationship with the team and show what I can do on track as well as behind the scenes," said the Englishman, who turns 21 on Friday. "The help I have had from Mercedes and Lewis has been mainly listening and learning. "Lewis goes out there to work on every aspect and really build that team around him, which is why he and Mercedes are so strong. That is what I want to do here."<doc-sep>Williams has revealed the new look it will take into the 2019 season after replacing its Martini title sponsorship with telecommunications company ROKiT over the winter. The announcement was made at an event at the team's headquarters on Monday, where a 2018 car was painted in the team's new colours. The famous British team endured the worst season in its history last year, finishing bottom of the championship, and the 2018 campaign also saw the end of its partnership with iconic drinks brand Martini, which had been a title sponsor since the start of the 2014 season. ROKiT, which specialises in mobile phone and Wi-Fi technology, is due to launch in the U.S.A. and U.K. in March this year and has signed a "multi-year" deal with Williams in the hope its affiliation with the F1 team will boost awareness of its products. The company itself has no previous link to F1, but one of its co-founders, Jonathan Kendrick, worked as a Goodyear tyre technician on the Williams of Alan Jones at the 1978 Argentine Grand Prix in Buenos Aires. It is also a sponsor of NBA team the Houston Rockets. Deputy team principal Claire Williams welcomed the new sponsor to the team. "We are delighted to welcome ROKiT to our team as our title partner for the 2019 season and beyond," she said. "We share many similar values and aspirations with ROKiT; primarily putting engineering and innovation at the core of everything we do in our pursuit to be the best -- the perfect platform from which to start a partnership. "ROKiT is on an exciting journey in their world of telecommunications, as we are at Williams as we build the team for a successful future. Taking that path together will make us both stronger in our endeavours and so I can't wait to get started." Kendrick, who is the Chairman of ROK Brands, added: "With ROKiT launching in 2019 we wanted a global platform that would help us tell our story of innovation. Williams Racing is the perfect partner. With them we can bring F1 to audiences in new and pioneering ways. Through our glasses-free 3D technology and our Wi-Fi capabilities, we aim to make Formula One even more accessible for all. Williams Racing exists purely to race in the top echelon of motor racing and we see the exciting partnership of ROKiT Williams Racing as the beginning of an ambitious and exciting road back to the podium." ROKiT is a telecommunications company. Williams Williams will contest 2019 with an all-new driver line-up, with the returning Robert Kubica lining up with Formula 2 champion and Mercedes junior George Russell.<doc-sep>
F1 news: Williams look to the future with new livery Williams have explained why they have moved away from tradition in a bid to present a "revitalised" image ahead of the 2019 Formula 1 season as they target big improvements in form. The team's 2019 livery was revealed at their Grove base on Monday, with the new light blue, white and black colour scheme a big visual change ahead of a season in which Williams are aiming to rebound from a wretched 2018. "From my perspective, I wanted a livery that told a story and told a story about where Williams is and the future that we believe it has," said deputy team boss Claire Williams. Find out more about Sky Sports F1 F1 2019: All the key details F1 launch week: When you'll see the 2019 cars 2:29 Claire Williams speaks to Sky Sports News as Williams unveil their new car for the 2019 season. Claire Williams speaks to Sky Sports News as Williams unveil their new car for the 2019 season. "A lot of people are aware that Williams' tradition colours are navy blue and white, but I wanted to move away from that and show the world that we're a fresh, revitalised brand. "Just sticking and reverting to our traditional navy and white didn't really tell that story. A Formula 1 car at the end of the day is your shop window to the world and I wanted to tell a great story and come out with a really vibrant livery. I feel that does that." A meagre seven points and last place in the Constructors' Championship made 2018 a year to quickly forget for the former multiple champions, with Williams admitting it was "soul-destroying" heading to races with little chance of scoring points. However, Williams says the team is determined to put things right in 2019. "We've lost pretty much nobody from our race team this winter and I think that shows the strength of spirit that we have within Williams - and everyone's dedication to getting it back [on track]," she said. While steering clear of setting specific targets, Williams says it is obvious that the team must move forward. "We never say our target is to be X, Y or Z, that's dangerous," she added. "But clearly our target this year is to make progress. We have to do that. In the short term we have to be targeting P4 again and then we have to work back towards getting those podiums."