Williams pins F1 ‘comeback plan’ on Mike Cannon-Brookes’s Atlassian
Mike Cannon-Brookes is the latest Australian billionaire to muscle into Formula One, with Atlassian becoming the new title sponsor for Williams as the F1 team seeks to reverse its fortunes after hitting the skids.
Mike Cannon-Brookes is the latest Australian billionaire to muscle into Formula One, with his software juggernaut Atlassian becoming the new title sponsor for Williams as the F1 team as it embarks on a “comeback plan” after hitting the skids.
Although Williams is the joint-second most successful team in F1 history – with 114 wins and nine constructors championships – it finished second last of the sport’s 10 teams last season.
Williams said Atlassian’s sponsorship was “another vote of confidence in the team’s comeback plan to transform and deliver future World Championship success”.
Mr Cannon-Brookes said F1 was the “ultimate team sport” and “depends on cutting edge technology to keep it moving”, which is where Atlassian can assist.
“We will be supporting Williams through their end-to-end digital transformation, moving them to a completely new way of working with the Atlassian system of work,” Mr Cannon-Brookes said.
“Thanks to our collaboration tools, Williams can take advantage of Atlassian’s data rich, AI-powered platform and innovate faster than ever.”
The adoption of this approach and the Atlassian product suite across Williams will “unleash the potential of Atlassian Williams Racing, deepening teamwork and collaboration to deliver on-track performance”.
“Formula 1 is the ultimate team sport. It’s where engineers, developers, commercial teams, pit crews and countless others work together in real-time at incredible speeds to race for a podium finish,” Mr Cannon-Brookes said.
“Atlassian shares Williams’ deep belief in the power of teamwork. We know that when great teams have the right tools and practices, they can achieve things that would be impossible alone.
Williams said the deal was the biggest in the team’s 48-year history. But financial terms were not disclosed.
It will be known as Atlassian Williams Racing when the F1 season starts in Australia on March 16. Mr Cannon-Brookes was already showing off the team’s new swag, switching one of his trademark Rabbitoh’s caps for an Atlassian Williams Racing one.
His foray into the sport follows Melbourne cryptocurrency and gambling billionaire Edward Craven’s Stake.com empire securing naming rights for the Sauber F1 team last year following the departure of Alfa Romeo.
Mr Craven chose F1 as a way to attract a new audience to Stake. ““The upcoming years will be a thrilling ride with some mind-blowing activations planned that will redefine excitement on and off the track,” he said.
Atlassian has also been bold – and sometimes cheeky – in its ambition. At its annual Team conference last year in Las Vegas it launched an advertising campaign targeting bigger rival ServiceNow.
ServiceNow, which held its own customer showcase in Las Vegas a week after Atlassian’s, was faced with a series of billboards from the Australian-founded company, emblazoned with the words “end bad service management now’’, with the ‘‘o’’ in “now” coloured green, taking a dig at ServiceNow’s logo.
Atlassian is also seeking to differentiate itself from Microsoft, Amazon and Google in the AI race after it launched its new artificial intelligence agents platform Rovo, which Mr Cannon-Brookes said was more than a “souped-up version of chatbots”. He said Rovo focused on making teams rather than individual employees more productive.
Atlassian Williams Racing team principal James Vowles said: “we are putting in place all the right ingredients to get this team back to the front of the grid”.
“I am delighted to welcome Atlassian into Formula 1 and our evolution into Atlassian Williams Racing”.
“Attracting a title partnership of this size and significance is a momentous day in our team’s illustrious history and a major milestone in our comeback transformation.
“In Atlassian we have a partner that through its technology and tools will help unleash our full potential by improving teamwork and collaboration right across the organisation. Our values and ambition align perfectly, and I’m excited about what we can achieve together.”
Melbourne-headquartered fintech Airwallex has also signed a deal with F1 team McLaren to support its financial operations, including multi-currency transactions and its merchandise platform.
Originally published as Williams pins F1 ‘comeback plan’ on Mike Cannon-Brookes’s Atlassian
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