Williams Formula 1 Secures Acronis Sponsorship

Williams secured a "fresh sponsorship boost on the eve of the season," with tech company Acronis joining the Grove-based Formula 1 outfit from Toro Rosso, according to Jonathan Noble of MOTORSPORT. Acronis has been involved in F1 with Toro Rosso since '16, and more recently announced a partnership with the Renault e.dams team in Formula E. While it is "set to remain a partner of Toro Rosso, albeit in a less high-profile manner," the Singapore-based company decided that its "main push" in F1 will now be with Williams. Rumors of a switch to Williams "first surfaced last year" when driver Sergey Sirotkin was linked with the team -- with Acronis' CEO being Russian-born Serguei Beloussov. But the company has "denied that its decision to move to Williams was dependent on Sirotkin getting the race seat." Acronis President John Zanni said, "For us it was totally unrelated. It had to do with the technology" (MOTORSPORT, 2/13).