Will Buxton has come in for criticism following his insinuations that Williams’ one-off livery for Madrid has an association with Osama Bin Laden and the events of 9/11.
Williams is running a special livery this weekend at the Madring, paying tribute to its 1981 Spanish GP appearance.
Will Buxton faces criticism over Williams 9/11 livery comments
Williams is running a one-off livery for this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring, with a race in the Spanish capital returning for the first time since 1981, with the team taking the opportunity to celebrate its Madrid-born driver, Carlos Sainz.
But the build-up to the weekend has been overshadowed by social media commentary on its latest marketing activation, which has accelerated off the back of comments made by Will Buxton.
For context, the weekend of this year’s race happens to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in which New York’s World Trade Centre collapsed, resulting in the deaths of thousands.
19 militants from the Osama Bin Laden-led Al Qaeda Islamic extremist group were behind the attacks, with individuals from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Lebanon involved.
In 1981, Williams raced with the FW07C with reigning World Champion Alan Jones and Argentine racer Carlos Reutemann at Jarama, the venue for that year’s race in Madrid, claiming second and third with its two drivers.
In a throwback, the revised livery for the 2026 car shows off the colour scheme of the FW07C, which was then sponsored by title sponsor Saudi Arabian Airlines through its Saudia branding. The new livery has been created in partnership with the team’s title sponsor, Australian company Atlassian, and is understood to have been in planning for several months.
The Bin Laden family was a prominent sponsorship broker for Middle Eastern companies, and following the family’s construction firm’s direct sponsorship of Williams in the late 1970s, helped establish the sponsorship deal with Saudia, whose appearance on the car influenced the 1981 car’s livery colours.
The fastest way forward is knowing where you’ve been.
Introducing our ’81 FW07C-inspired livery, as we return to Madrid 📸🏎️
Presented by @Atlassian. pic.twitter.com/S8OpjpiKF2
— Atlassian Williams F1 Team (@WilliamsRacing) September 8, 2026
While the 2026 livery does not feature any Saudia branding, former F1 broadcaster Will Buxton has raised eyebrows in the paddock after making comments on a podcast in which he insinuated Williams has not thought the livery through.
“I love a throwback livery. I’m not convinced the timing of it is wise,” Buxton said.
“In 1979, Williams was sponsored by the Bin Laden family, the father of Osama. It was a huge family and and I think Osama had sort of been kicked out of the family at at the time, but 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.
“And this weekend marks 25 years since 9/11. It is a very delicate moment of of world history and an incredibly impactful. And I’m not convinced that running that livery, no matter how well-intentioned, beautiful, and magical that historic livery is.
“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.”
However, the now-IndyCar broadcaster has met with considerable backlash from social media, with voices across X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit questioning Buxton’s logic.
“As an American, I think Will has leaned too far into American culture with one,” said one commenter. “Even we aren’t going this far to be offended by 9/11.”
Another said, “Jesus, I’ve seen some digging to be offended, but this might take the cake.”
One observer pointed to how the livery does not include any indication of the sponsor, labelling it “a very big reach” to make some an insinuation.
PlanetF1.com understands Buxton’s comments are being given short thrift in the F1 paddock, with the commentary on the livery being seen as reaching for the dramatic as Buxton’s opinions are said to have no basis in any sort of fact; it’s also understood that the FIA and FOM have taken a dim view on Buxton’s comments.
It’s not expected that Williams will be acknowledging Buxton’s comments, nor making any alterations or tweaks to the livery.
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Originally published by Planet F1 —
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