In 1977, a 35-year-old Frank Williams foresaw the interest that the Middle East would have in using sport to promote their presence on the world stage.
So he had a simple pitch: “the Middle Eastern community can be the ‘best in the west’ if they race with me”.
But how he got the pitch in front of them was the genius part.
He had the brand-new Williams racing car liveried up in the Saudi Airlines colours and had it towed to the The Dorchester Hotel in London where he knew the key Saudi prince was staying.
He bribed a traffic warden so he could park the car on Park Lane, then rushed into the lobby and rang the prince’s room and said “have a look out the window”.
The prince looked down and saw Frank waving next to the car and the prince gave the thumbs up.
And that’s how Saudi Airlines became a sponsor of Williams Racing.
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