The new car for the 2026 Formula 1 season has not yet been able to drive, but Williams has at least unveiled the livery for the FW48.
After skipping the shakedown in Barcelona last week, Williams at least unveiled the livery of the FW48 for the 2026 Formula 1 season on Tuesday. The basic design of previous years remains unchanged.
However, there are new white accents on the sidepods and on the front and rear wings. In addition, Barclays, as the team’s new sponsor, is bringing the brand’s signature light blue to the car. Williams itself describes the new livery as “bold” in a press release.
Team principal James Vowles has repeatedly referred to 2026 as an important year for Williams in the past. Many fans were therefore all the more disappointed that the team had to skip the Barcelona test because of “delays” with the new car. Vowles recently clarified that Williams could have taken part in the shakedown in Spain. However, given the spare parts situation for the first races of the season, this would have been a risk he was not prepared to take.
Williams intends to participate as normal with the new FW48 in the last two winter tests before the 2026 Formula 1 season in Bahrain (February 11 to 13 and February 18 to 20).
2026 to be “the next step” for Williams
“2026 is the next step on the road back to the top for Williams as we enter a new era of the sport, and we are looking forward to the coming season,” Vowles explains combatively, despite the problems during preparation.
“We have a great driver pairing, some fantastic new partners, a steadily growing fan base, and we want to build on last year’s success. But we are well aware of the challenge ahead,“ said the team boss.
”No one knows exactly what will happen in the first race, but we are looking forward to finding out and hope that our fans will cheer us on enthusiastically with this great new livery,” emphasized Vowles.
Williams finished the 2025 season in a strong fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship. The last time they did better was in 2015, when they even finished third in the World Championship with Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas at the wheel.
In 2026, the driver pairing at Grove will once again be Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz. While Albon is already entering his fifth season as a Williams driver, it is only the second year for his Spanish teammate at the traditional racing team.
Sainz vs. Albon: Who has the edge?
In their first season together, Albon narrowly led the Drivers’ Championship with 73:64 points at the end. However, it was Sainz who provided the highlights of the season, finishing on the podium twice in Baku and Qatar and also coming third in the sprint in Austin. Overall, Sainz, who has also driven for Toro Rosso, Renault, McLaren, and Ferrari in Formula 1, is entering his twelfth season in the premier class. The Spaniard has already won four Grands Prix with Ferrari in the past.
The wait is over. Meet the FW48 livery pic.twitter.com/Q88qWS0jI5
— Atlassian Williams F1 Team (@WilliamsF1) February 3, 2026
Teammate Albon is about to start his seventh Formula 1 season. The 29-year-old finished third on the podium twice for Red Bull in the 2020 season, but has yet to win a race in the premier class.
“It’s always special to see a new livery for the first time, and the FW48 looks incredible. The design really stands out. It’s striking, modern, and unmistakably Williams,“ said Albon of the new livery. Teammate Sainz added: ”The FW48’s livery is a clear statement of our goals for 2026. The design celebrates Williams’ heritage while embodying a fresh, dynamic look for the new era.”
