Saudia returns to F1 with Aston Martin team

Aston Martin hopes its cars will be flying next weekend in Jeddah, but at the very least they will be flying the colors of Saudia, the country's national flag carrier and once a historic sponsor of the Williams team.

Frank Williams' opportunity to turn around his fortunes in Formula 1 in the late seventies materialised when he struck a deal in late 1977 with Saudia.

It was a seminal moment for the F1 team owner and partner Patrick Head, as once Saudia was onboard, Williams' relationship with the Kingdom snowballed.

"It was very new, but it was also very exciting," Sir Frank once said, recalling his early trips to the Middle East.

"The Saudis had a lot of money arriving because they were increasing the oil prices and there was a lot of independent wealth. The downside was they didn't really understand what Formula 1 was, so it took quite a while to educate them.

"But the younger groups of princes picked up the baton pretty enthusiastically, while, at the same time, I was quite successful with Saudia, and when you had Saudia on the cars, it was a badge of authority and appropriateness."

Williams brought onboard other Saudi Arabian or Middle-East companies, such as Albilad and TAG, the latter owned by future McLaren shareholder Mansour Ojjeh.

As a resulted, the well-funded Williams outfit raced on to become the third most successful team in Grand Prix racing behind Ferrari and McLaren.

Saudia's new partnership with Aston Martin is an extension of the Silverstone-based outfit's existing commercial relationship with Saudi Arabia through its sponsorship deal with Saudi Aramco.

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"We are delighted to welcome Saudia onboard," said Jeff Slack, Aston Martin's managing director commercial and marketing.

"And it's a great pleasure to announce our new partnership ahead of the Kingdom's round of the World Championship in Jeddah this weekend.

"Clearly, there's a strategic alliance between the worlds of air travel and F1 – we will explore that together, as well as look to efficiently manage our global travel footprint.

"The arrival of Saudia not only underlines the opportunities that F1 presents to companies on an unprecedented global scale, it also highlights the strength and appeal of the Aston Martin name to like-minded brands looking for unique, collaborative partnerships."

"We believe in the power of sports to unite people and create a borderless world," said Saudia group chief marketing officer Khaled Tash.

"Therefore, we have been highly selective in choosing top global sporting teams that share our vision. With a passion for driving innovation and sustainability-focused initiatives, we are confident that we have found a natural partner in Aston Martin."

Several decades ago, airlines were a rare presence in F1, but in recent years Middle-Eastern carriers Emirates, Etihad, Gulf and Qatar have jumped at the opportunity to get involved with the sport.

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