Martini will not renew its sponsorship of the Williams F1 team when the current contract comes to an end this year.

It's understood that though Williams was keen to continue the partnership - and why wouldn't it - the Bacardi Group, of which Martini is one of its leading brands feels that F1 "no longer aligns with their strategic interests".

"We have discussed extending beyond 2018," Claire Williams told Autosport. "While we would both like to do so, the Bacardi Group have told us that they will step away entirely from Formula 1 when our contract expires at the end of this year. They have many brands to support and obviously their strategic priorities evolve over time."

It's understood that the decision had nothing to do with the fact that both Williams race drivers are under 25, even though it is widely claimed that Martini had stipulated that at least one driver had to be over 25.

While Williams made progress in the first two years of the deal, which began in 2014, for the last two years the Grove outfit has fallen behind the comparatively underfunded Force India.

Another factor that might be worth considering is the fact that - as Pitpass has previously pointed out - one of the "12 prominent global business leaders" appointed to McLaren's Business Advisory Group, is Jaime Bergel, Chairman of Bacardi-Martini SA.

If F1 "no longer aligns with their strategic interests", one wonders why the chairman of Bacardi-Martini SA feel the need to help McLaren "shape its future strategy and priorities"?

Martini McLaren in 2019 anyone?

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