Will Buxton slates 'unwise' Williams retro livery on 9/11 anniversary

Commentator Will Buxton has slated Williams' throwback livery for the Spanish Grand Prix, a look that has been linked to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Williams ran with a largely unchanged base livery from 1978 to 1982, with the  Formula 1 team gaining significant financial backing from Saudi Arabia. One such backer was the Bin Laden family, with the name appearing on the sidepod of the 1979 at some events. 

Friday of the Madrid weekend marks the 25th anniversary of the attacks in the United States of America, and although Williams' livery is based on the 1981 iteration, which did not feature the Bin Laden name, Buxton believes that links will still be drawn.

"I love a throwback livery. I'm not convinced the timing of it is wise," Buxton told the Up to Speed podcast. 

"In 1979, Williams was sponsored by the Bin Laden family, the father of Osama. It was a huge family, and I think Osama had sort of 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. 

"This weekend marks 25 years since 9/11. It is a very delicate moment of world history and an incredibly impactful one. I'm not convinced that running that livery, no matter how well-intentioned and how beautiful and how magical that historic livery is, [is a good idea].

"Any other weekend, you'd be like, 'Oh, that's pretty cool.' This weekend, I think there's a focus group that's failed to focus really on that. People will make that link, and they will make that association."

Williams has been very specific in its announcement of the livery, linking it to the 1981 campaign, which saw Nelson Piquet take the drivers' title while Williams wrapped up the constructors' crown. Explaining the timing of fielding this look, 1981 was also the last time that F1 raced in Madrid, with the championship then racing at Jarama.

Although some reaction online has agreed with Buxton's sentiment that the look is an 'unwise' one to field on this weekend, there is a large segment of the fanbase that are satisfied that enough distance can be put between the look and the events of 2001.