DECEMBER 8, 2003

Williams and O2

The word on the street in Formula 1 circles is that Williams is about to add another new sponsor to its impressive roster with stories suggesting that the Grove team will soon announce a deal with the mobile communications company O2. The company was demerged from British Telecom in November 2001 and a month later became the first third generation network in Europe with a service in the Isle of Man. After a $1.6m bond issue the company launched the O2 consumer brand in May 2002 and the business now has nearly 20m customers in the UK, Germany, Ireland and the Isle of Man. The company has a turnover of more than $7bn and in growing strongly in Europe.

If confirmed this will be the latest in a series of telecommunications sponsorships in Formula 1, the most recent of which is a deal between Renault F1 and DoCoMo.