The team devised four possible options, with the winner of the public vote to be used in the cars for the Singapore, Japan and Qatar Grands Prix.
Gulf are keen to repeat their popular one-off arrangement with McLaren at the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix, but with voting and a series of different races adding a twist.
The four liveries are called “Traditional,” “Modern,” “Visionary,” and “Bolder Than Bold.”
The first is reminiscent of the one used by McLaren and is intended to reflect the Gulf’s early years with Ford and Porsche in sports car racing, while the other three are more modern interpretations.
Williams team boss James Walls said he would prefer a version that reflects Gulf history.
“It was a time when I looked back at motorsport and it was a good time,” Vowles said. “The race car is more important than anything else. The Gulf livery, the GT40 and the Porsche, are iconic.
“So working with the Sounders and having the opportunity to do the same with Williams, I’m excited about that.
“It just represents our movement. It represents our history. We have two brands with a huge legacy coming together. I think that’s why the colors work. It’s not the colors themselves but the nature of the heritage behind them .”
Williams FW45 Contemporary Gulf livery
Photography: Williams
Vowles said the more modern take on the color of the bay was meant to reflect changes in F1’s demographics.
“F1 does have a diverse audience now,” he said. “So you have iconic brands that represent history.
“But you also have really modern twists in different forms. I think that’s really the demographic in F1 now.
“That’s what I appreciate about F1. F1 has grown tremendously in the last 10 years. If you look at the demographics, it’s not just an aging population now. The growth is actually happening in women and younger age groups.
“And (the uniforms) are very different, but similar. It’s hard to explain, but I would say they are modern, interpreted in a different way.”
Williams driver Alex Albon said that, like his team boss, he preferred the traditional look.
“Legacy is great for me,” he said. “I’m a simple guy, and I like the clean lines. I used to love the business, even the racing helmets I used as a kid. I used to love all the spin and slope changes and all that stuff.
“And I’ve basically transitioned to a drab helmet. I’ve matured!”
Pierre Gasly repeated Ocon’s performance at the Principality, finishing fourth on a day when others failed to get it right, although he was later held back by Carlos Sainz ) and Max Verstappen were relegated six places.
Ocon, meanwhile, had a less-than-perfect lap in Q3 but was still seventh ahead of Sunday’s grid thanks to a team-mate’s penalty.
“It’s fantastic,” Ocon said when asked by Autosport about the car being fourth fastest again.
“If you had told me two games ago, I wouldn’t have believed it.
“Credit to Viry and Enstone for the work they’ve done, as those upgrades we’ve brought to them are clearly working.
“It’s a moment of confirmation after Monaco, the car is obviously more dynamic, so we’re happy.”
Ocon admitted he didn’t have the best overtake on the final lap, which contributed to his lack of Gasly.
“We optimized very well in all qualifying sessions, except for my performance in Q3,” he explained.
“Probably the tires weren’t as good at the start of the lap as all the other runs we maxed out, and in the rear I didn’t have that good grip.
Esteban Ocon, Alpine F1 Team
Photography: Erik Junius
“It was a bit like Fernando (Alonso), I lost the rear entry to Turn 10, I went a little wide and I lost a lot of lap time there. So there was definitely more possibility today, but it was A great place to start.
“I was really happy today because it was so close and it meant that if we had good lap times we could be there, which is fantastic.
“I hope F1 will stay like this for a long time, and P1 will do likewise.”
Before his penalty was confirmed, Gasly responded to Ocon’s statement about the state of the team.
“I’m very happy for the team because it’s the best qualifying of the season,” he said.
“It’s more important than the result itself. I’m happy with the evolution we’ve shown over the past few weekends.
“It’s early in the season and I’m getting to know the team every weekend. They’re getting to know myself, you know, it’s about putting things together. I really feel like every weekend, we’re taking a step forward. .
“It was a really strong lap. I always look further. When I see Carlos coming in second with less than 10th, it really shows that we are on the gear we have There is potential, and the upgrades are working.
“Overall, there are a lot of positives in this qualifying session.”
Nyck de Vries has performed much better in Monaco than at previous Grands Prix this season. The Dutch seem to have brought this form to the Spanish country. Around Barcelona, the AlphaTauri drivers had a great time. He started the race in 14th place. In a press conference with GPblog and others, De Vries looked to the future.