Williams Racing was handed an early Christmas present on Thursday when a US Court ordered former sponsor ROKiT to pay the Formula 1 team over $32 million for reneging on a commercial deal between the two parties.
Williams brought telecommunications company ROKiT onboard ahead of the start of the 2019 F1 season.
Mid-way through that year's campaign, the two partners agreed on an extension of their deal to the end of 2023.
Mid-way through that year's campaign, the two partners agreed on an extension of their deal to the end of 2023.
But in May 2020, just a month before the start of F1's Covid-impacted season, Williams suddenly terminated its sponsorship deal with ROKiT.
©Williams
It appeared at the time that Williams had cause to do so as its partner had not fulfilled its contractual obligations and had withheld several instalments ranging from £3.5m to £5m.
In early January of this year, a federal court in Los Angeles, arbitrating the case between Williams and ROKiT, recognized the former's prejudice and awarded the team $35.78 million in compensation.
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But ROKiT pursued the matter further, prolonging litigation between the two parties.
However, on Thursday, the United States District Court for the Central District of California presided by Judge Christina A Synder ruled that ROKiT was once again liable to pay £26,220,094.25 to Williams racing, or approximately $32.2 million.
ROKiT must also pay £1 million to cover Williams Racing's legal costs.
ROKiT remains active in motorsport, having sponsored Foyt in IndyCar last season, while the company is set to continue its support of the Venturi team in Formula E that will next season run under the banner of Maserati in the all-electric series.
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