No other team on the grid was as poised to begin a new chapter in its history as Williams Racing. With new drivers, a new title sponsor and a new livery – the team had an opportunity to reassert its identity. The launch film of the FW42 would be the first opportunity to show the world of motorsport a new Williams: reborn and resurgent.
Season Opener
FW42 Car Launch
The unveiling of the new car, new livery and new title partner was set to be revealed at a closed launch event, and this film had to build excitement amongst the closed audience of industry professionals and journalists. Knowing that the film would then be released on social media, we strove to create a film that would push the boundaries of how teams announce their new car to their loyal fans.
We want to eclipse last year’s FW41 launch film with a conceptual approach never seen before. To visualise the metaphor of a ‘rebirth’, we drew inspiration from the natural world. A marriage of the mechanical and the organic, our animated film parallelled the FW42 being born from beneath a black synthetic layer and an electric blue butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.
Not only does the concept encapsulate the raw power of the Formula 1 engine and the beautiful complexity of nature, but it also holds a particular significance to the team. For years, the livery of Williams’ F1 cars has been adorned with a butterfly symbol in memory of Ginny Williams.
The film reached +1m views on Williams social channels, and was syndicated by Autosport, BBC, Sky Sports, WTF1. It was also adopted by ROKiT and used during the presentation and launch of the new mobile devices.
