With a bid to enter the midfield battle in 2023, Williams unveil FW45 livery

Williams' 2023 livery is strikingly similar to the colours it finished the 2022 season with, despite having more of the upper surfaces painted in a new matte finish.

The Williams FW45 for the 2023 F1 season. (Image: Twitter/F1)
By Nilavro Ghosh | Feb 8, 2023 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Williams displayed the colour scheme that will eventually be used on the FW45 car that the team is currently finishing up building at a special event held at its Grove factory. On Monday, February 13 at Silverstone, it will be driven for the first time by Albon and Sargeant. Williams’ 2023 livery is strikingly similar to the colours it finished the 2022 season with, despite having more of the upper surfaces painted in a new matte finish than the largely all-black, bare-carbonfibre strategy it had to use the previous year to help meet F1’s minimum weight requirements.

The oil company has been signed as a new partner for 2022 after its contract with McLaren expired at the end of 2022. Gulf International’s prominent new branding is featured in the livery, which was displayed on an FW44 model. Williams Racing’s 2023 livery, which features a contrasting diamond shape and flashes of red and blue to symbolise the exciting new era of the team, was described by Williams as an evolution of the FW44 livery.

The finished FW45 was not shown, but a Williams statement described it as a general evolution of the FW44, with additional changes to the front suspension set-up and the major external aerodynamic surfaces. It also featured what it called a heavily evolved sidepod concept. The 2023 challenger from Williams, which is about to be unveiled, is said to be more aerodynamically efficient than the FW44, with more overall downforce and better handling characteristics.

James Matthews, a member of the Williams board of directors, and Mike Jones, the CEO of Gulf, unveiled the FW45’s livery. Albon, Sargeant, and Jamie Chadwick, a 2023 Indy NXT driver who joined the Williams driver academy in 2019, where Sargeant is graduating this year, were also present. James Vowles, a former strategy director for Mercedes, was recently announced as Jost Capito’s successor at Williams as team principal. He was not present at the livery launch, however, as he will not begin working for the team until February 20 after being released from Mercedes.

Chairman and driver speak

Matthew Savage, Williams’ board chairman, said: “As Williams Racing continues its transformation, we’re proud to unveil this year’s livery. We are excited about this year’s car, and I cannot thank the entire team at Grove enough for their hard work to get ready for the season. I am delighted to welcome both new and existing partners to our journey. “With our new team principal James Vowles joining us later this month, as well as our exciting driver line-up of Alex and Logan, Williams Racing will be giving its all in 2023.”

Albon added: “I’m really excited to be starting back for another year with the team. The car looks great and will hit the track at Silverstone. The team has worked really hard last year and over the winter to address some key areas in our car, putting in the work to try and maximise what we get out of the car for 2023, so I’m looking forward to seeing what the FW45 can do. We also welcome new partners to the team this year, so it’s great to have them onboard.”