This New Documentary That Tells The Story Of The Saudia-Sponsored Car That Won The 1980 F1 World Championship Is A Must-See
Believe it or not, Saudi Arabia has a long history with Formula 1 that goes back decades before Jeddah hosted its first-ever F1 race.
The kingdom’s state carrier, which was called Saudia back then, was the sponsor of the legendary Williams FW07—this was the car that won the 1980 F1 World Championship.
A new documentary called “Return of a Winner” follows the story of its car right from its days of glory to how it fell into disuse following its subsequent restoration and return to the F1 track at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
The restoration of the car itself is an achievement in itself, as the team was in a race against time and had just six weeks to restore it.
This is Williams FW07/04, driven to victory at the 1980 Argentinian GP by Alan Jones, who went on to become World Champion that year. The car was recently recommissioned by UK-based firm Fifteen Eleven Design in a 1000-hour process that has paid off handsomely. Image: Tom Kahler pic.twitter.com/BJMcbSUOMf
— Porter Press (@PorterPress) December 18, 2021
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But Saudia wasn’t the only Saudi connection to this car.
Look closely, and you’ll see Jeddah-based daily Al-Bilad’s logo also on it. Saudia and Al-Bilad clearly nailed it with this marketing campaign, as the car went on to win several races in the 80s.
1980 USGP, Alan Jones, Williams FW07 #AustraliaDay 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/wzXKPxF30O
— Formula One World (@FormulaOneWorld) January 26, 2022
Now, coming to where you can view it, as of now the 35-minute documentary is available on Saudi Airlines’ in-flight entertainment.
