OCTOBER 12, 2004

Webber and Williams

Mark Webber will begin testing for the Williams team in November as a deal has been struck between the team and Webber's current employer Jaguar Racing. Webber will wear plain overalls until the end of the year and will continue to do Jaguar promotional work and will not become a fulltime and fully-branded BMW Williams driver until the start of January.

We hear, incidentally, that the team has now concluded its $15m sponsorship with the Royal Bank of Scotland which will see the bank taking over the engine cover of the Williams cars next year. Allianz will continue to sponsor the team but the German insurance giant will have slightly less branding. This will mean that RBS consultant Sir Jackie Stewart will probably become a feature of the Williams garage although it is not yet clear how the famous green tartan trews are going to look with the neat blue and white of BMW Williams.