GROVE, U.K -- Claire Williams hopes her team's light blue and white livery for the 2019 season marks a new chapter in its history after moving away from its traditional colours.
Despite five years with the predominantly white livery of former title sponsor Martini, Williams is still associated with the dark shade of blue it carried during its dominant years of the 1990s. The British team is coming off its worst ever season having finished bottom of the constructors' championship in 2018.
On Monday, the team and its new driver line-up -- the returning Robert Kubica and rookie George Russell -- took the covers off a car now adorned with the sponsorship of communications company ROKiT, along with the new colours.
When asked whether her father, team founder Sir Frank, was a fan of the change, she said: "Frank loved it -- you might be surprised to hear that, but he did.
"I was a little nervous going and presenting it to him as Frank is very traditional and protective of that navy blue. But he was understanding of the arguments behind it, that this is telling the world a very clear story and delivering a very clear message in my mind as to where we are.
"He is fully behind it... and I'm still here -- if he hadn't liked it, he probably would have fired me!"
Williams described the new look as a "next-gen Williams" ahead of what she feels will be a crucial year in her family team's plans to return to competitiveness.
"There's a bit of a story behind this livery. We were made well aware in advance that Martini were going to be ending their relationship with us, and it gave us a great opportunity to think very hard about how we wanted to position Williams moving forward - certainly as this year is such an important year for us, and the years ahead.
"We spent a lot of time on this livery. It's all done in-house. We have a very good creative team at Williams.
"From my perspective, I wanted a livery that told a story and told a story about where Williams is and the future that we believe it has. A lot of people are aware that Williams' traditional colours are navy blue and white, but I wanted to move away from that and show the world that we're a fresh, revitalised brand.
"Just sticking and reverting to our traditional navy and white didn't really tell that story. A Formula One car at the end of the day is your shop window to the world and I wanted to tell a great story and come out with a really vibrant livery. I feel that does that."