F1 Team Fights Ex-Sponsor’s Third $34M Fraud Suit

A longstanding dispute between Formula One team Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd. and its former sponsor ROKiT World Inc. has escalated into a third lawsuit—now removed to federal court in Florida. Williams asserts that ROKiT’s repeated attempts to litigate the same issues are merely efforts to sidestep a $34 million arbitration award already confirmed in U.S. court. The current complaint, initially filed in Duval County in July 2025, mirrors two previously dismissed lawsuits alleging fraudulent inducement into sponsorship agreements. Williams moved the suit to the Middle District of Florida last week, asserting it plans to dismiss the case on the same grounds that sank the earlier actions.

The Allegations

ROKiT alleges it was fraudulently induced into sponsoring the Williams F1 team based on misrepresentations about the competitiveness of the team's car. The company claims that Williams knowingly withheld critical information about the car's performance, inducing ROKiT to invest millions in a sponsorship deal that “had no chance of delivering results.” In its latest complaint, ROKiT also asserts that a whistleblower with “intricate knowledge” has recently revealed that Williams and its former directors knew from the outset that the car was noncompetitive. The filing states that the alleged fraud was not discoverable through reasonable diligence and that the claims are therefore timely under equitable tolling doctrines.

Williams’ Response

Williams rejects these allegations and views the new lawsuit as a “spurious collateral attack” on an arbitral award confirmed in December 2022 by the Central District of California. “With this suit, ROKiT has taken its gamesmanship to a new level, filing a duplicative complaint in state court while it maintained an identical action in this court,” Williams stated in its notice of removal. The team argues that the contract’s arbitration clause, which refers disputes to the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), bars any further litigation. Williams maintains that the sponsorship agreements clearly mandated arbitration and that ROKiT is trying to sidestep both the process and the outcome.

Prior Legal Battles

The legal saga began in April 2023, when ROKiT filed its first lawsuit in Miami-Dade County, alleging it was misled into a sponsorship agreement. That case was removed to the Southern District of Florida and later dismissed due to procedural failures—specifically, ROKiT’s failure to retain properly admitted counsel. A second complaint followed in the Middle District of Florida in August 2024, but it was also dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, with the court finding that the allegedly fraudulent conduct occurred in the United Kingdom, not Florida. Despite the dismissals, ROKiT returned with its third iteration of the claims in Duval County in July 2025. That case is now the subject of the current removal and expected dismissal motion by Williams.

The Arbitration Award

Williams had previously taken the dispute to the LCIA after ROKiT allegedly failed to make required payments under the sponsorship agreements during the 2020 Formula One season. The LCIA rejected ROKiT’s counterclaims and awarded Williams $34 million, a decision later confirmed by a federal court in California. ROKiT did not pay the award and filed for bankruptcy in the same year. Williams argues that the timing of the sponsorship contracts undermines ROKiT’s fraud claims and that the arbitration process and its confirmed award should be respected. “These alleged misrepresentations never took place,” Williams argued, emphasizing the broad arbitration provisions and federal jurisdiction under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.

What’s Next?

Williams intends to dismiss the latest complaint in federal court. While ROKiT claims newly discovered whistleblower evidence justifies reopening the case and potentially setting aside the arbitration award, Williams maintains that such a claim falls outside the jurisdiction of the U.S. courts, especially after the award has been confirmed. Whether the court will entertain the argument that the new allegations overcome the existing arbitration judgment remains to be seen. As it stands, the case is pending in the Middle District of Florida under case number 3:25-cv-01067.

The Law Firms Involved

ROKiT is represented by Klayman Law Group PA, led by Larry Klayman. Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd. and its former directors are represented by Susman Godfrey LLP, with Rocco Magni serving as counsel.