Ahead of the inaugural Madrid GP this weekend, Williams have unveiled a special livery, but it raises unprecedented questions tied to the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
In 1979, the Williams F1 team was severely underfunded and struggling to survive on the grid. Founder Sir Frank Williams flew to Saudi Arabia and secured corporate backing from several prominent Saudi entities. One of the primary backers was Albilad, a trading and hotel company owned by Mohammed Bin Awad bin Laden, the father of Osama bin Laden, the man who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.
As a result of the deal, the family name of “Bin Laden” was printed directly onto the sidepods of the 1979 Williams FW07.
The sponsorship ended at the end of 1981, twenty years before the 9/11 events.
While Osama bin Laden was not directly involved in this business deal or F1, and was later disowned by his family in the 1990s and stripped of his Saudi citizenship due to his radical beliefs, it is still his surname that is historically associated with the sponsorship.
The team has chosen this livery because it is inspired by the championship-winning FW07C that raced at the Circuito de Jarama in 1981. That was the last time F1 raced in Madrid.
Williams has said the design celebrates its history, innovation, teamwork, and the connection between the team that raced at Jarama and the team competing in Madrid today. The livery uses the white, green, and navy blue colours of the 1981 design.
Those are legitimate reasons for choosing the livery. It celebrates a Constructors’ Championship-winning car and marks Williams’ return to a city where it last raced 45 years ago.
However, while the name “Bin Laden” was not on the official 1981 Williams livery, the hotel chain associated with the Saudi Binladin Group, Albilad, remained a financial backer and sponsor of the 1981 championship-winning car. The livery incorporates the brand colours of green, white, and navy, and features the hotel chain logo associated with Osama’s father.
This distinction is important. The controversy does not arise because Williams has placed the Bin Laden name on its 2026 car, or because anyone suggests the team intended to reference 9/11. It arises because the team has chosen to recreate a livery whose colours and branding are historically connected to a sponsorship deal involving the Bin Laden family, during a particularly sensitive anniversary.
This issue comes to light because the team has decided, this weekend, to run the same livery as the 1981 car, which has the terrorist surname associated with it. The same weekend coincides with the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
While the livery will not feature the name this race weekend, some still argue it was a poor decision.
Will Buxton, the F1 commentator who brought this story to light, argued that the team was tone-deaf to run a design so historically tied to the family name during a sensitive global anniversary. Buxton suggested that viewers could make a connection between the name shown on the car and the family of Osama bin Laden.
Buxton said on a podcast:
“I love a throwback livery. I don't think the timing is wise. In 1979, Williams was sponsored by the Bin Laden family, the father of Osama. It was a huge family, and I think Osama had been kicked out of the family at the time, but still Osama bin Laden's father and [the car] carried the Bin Laden name on the side.
“And so that colour scheme has an association with the family that was ultimately, through Osama bin Laden, responsible for 9/11. And this weekend marks 25 years since 9/11. It is a very delicate moment in world history and incredibly impactful. And I'm not convinced that running that livery, no matter how well-intentioned and how beautiful and how magical that historic livery is.
“Any other weekend, you'd be like, ‘Oh, that's pretty cool.’ This weekend, I think, you know, there's a focus group that's failed to focus really on that. People will make that link, and they will make that association.”
One has to question, with the global impact and the “never forget” attitude around 9/11, and the increased media attention leading up to the anniversary, how the PR team allowed this to occur. The images of the livery were released on Thursday, and the team has yet to comment on the ongoing controversy surrounding it. There has also been no suggestion that the team plans to change the livery before the weekend.
Though the point has generated debate among fans, the association is indirect. The family members connected to the name on the car are not responsible for the attack, but they are associated by name. This name has been directly linked to the attack.
While there is no indication that Williams intended the livery to reference Osama bin Laden or the events of September 11, it is understood the design is intended to celebrate Williams’ history. But I don't think that's history to celebrate on this particular weekend.
Many imply that, because the race is not taking place in the US, most fans would not have made the link without it being pointed out, and that the livery has no direct relationship to the 9/11 attacks. However, the attacks affected people worldwide, including British nationals, and Williams is a British team based in the UK.
Many fans suggest that if Buxton had not raised it on the podcast, people would not have realised. While that is plausible, it doesn't make this situation any less disingenuous.
The situation is also notable because Williams is now owned by US-based Dorilton Capital, a private investment firm and family office headquartered at 32 Avenue of the Americas in New York City, about a mile from the World Trade Centre.
That proximity does not establish that Williams intended to reference 9/11, but it adds another layer of context to a decision being made during the 25th anniversary of the attacks. It also raises the question of whether the livery approval process considered the historical association.
Several commenters also questioned why the focus had fallen on Williams’ throwback design when Formula 1 has faced wider debates about sponsorship, politics, and the countries in which it races. For those fans, the controversy represents an attempt to create an issue around a livery intended as a visual tribute to the team’s past.
Critics argue that even though the 1981 version they are copying did not have the name written on it, the overall colour scheme is still historically tied directly to that family's money.
Ultimately, this is not an argument that Williams intended to reference Osama bin Laden or the events of September 11. It is an argument about timing and judgement. Williams has legitimate reasons for choosing the livery, and the historical tribute itself is understandable. But a team can celebrate its history while still recognising that not every part of that history is appropriate to revive on every occasion.
With so many other liveries available, the question is why Williams chose this one on this weekend, and whether the historical tribute was worth the controversy it has created.
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