British racing legend Sir Frank Williams founded Williams Racing in 1977. It is the second most successful F1 team ever, with 9 Constructors Titles and 7 Drivers Titles. It was the home of many Formula 1 legends such as Nelson Piquet, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, and Damon Hill. But ever since the ‘commercialization’ of Formula 1, Williams has been unable to compete with big companies at the top with access to huge funds.
Williams has released their livery for the FW45, their car for the 2023 season. It features a triangular pattern of deep and light blue, matte. It is a refresh as compared to the previous cars driven by Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi. The most notable change in the livery is the inclusion of the Gulf logo after Gulf’s contract with McLaren ended in 2022.
Ready for the journey. Introducing the FW45 💙#WeAreWilliams
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) February 6, 2023
Matthew Savage, Chairman of the Board at Williams said “Gulf and Williams Racing share an illustrious motorsport heritage and, together, we are making history with this partnership.”
Another very noticeable change is the inclusion of the Duracell sponsorship on the airbox. The designers were very clever with the design as the airbox looks like an actual Duracell from the side due to the coloring.
Williams fans react to the new livery
Williams’ new livery has seen mostly positive responses from the fans. Some fans wanted the return of the blue and orange Gulf livery. Many fans applauded the Constructor’s effort to refresh the livery and compared it to Red Bull who have had almost the exact same livery for a while now.
This is how an F1 car with the Gulf logo on it should look pic.twitter.com/ScVikXJA3y
— Intensive Care Bear (@intensive_bear) February 7, 2023
they improved the side view, its even prettier, and cleaner now
the front view though😢 the triangle with red on the nose to get that retro feeling is gone
— Black 🟠 ZakBrownista 🟧 (@BlacklikesF1) February 6, 2023
Take notes Red Bull, this is what people want a reveal to be
Nice job @WilliamsRacing excited for the season
— TegridyBets (@MeckButterz) February 6, 2023
The FW45’s matte livery has not changed a lot, except for the Gulf and Duracell sponsors. However, the designers were definitely very smart with the placement of the Duracell sponsor. They colored the edge of the top vent to the color of a battery to make look like an actual Duracell battery, complete with the logo. The pattern is a little more accentuated than the previous year’s car.
Williams’ 2022 Season
Williams Racing faced a bad season in 2022 where they scored 8 points in total and ended up in the top 10 only 5 times attributing the last place in the Constructors’ standings. It was a massive drop in quality as compared to the relatively successful 2021 season where they ended up 8th with 23 points in total.
The transfer of George Russell to Mercedes for the 2022 season allowed Alex Albon to take his place to drive alongside Nicholas Latifi. Reserve driver Nyck de Vries scored his first 2 F1 points replacing Alex Albon at the Italian GP. Latifi and Albon scored 2 and 4 points respectively throughout the season.
Williams’ Plans and Strategy for 2023
Williams has seen a slight change for the 2023 season; Jost Capito, the team principal since Dorilton acquired the racing team has departed, and Mercedes’ Motorsport Strategy Director James Vowles. Another notable change would be the departure of Nicholas Latifi, who has been replaced with American rookie Logan Sargeant. Alex Albon is retaining his seat at Williams and looks optimistically to the next season.
“I would say we’re definitely in a better position than we were at the end of last year,” Albon told F1 when he was asked about his expectations for the 2023 season.
What a day! 😅
Missed it earlier? Take a look back at our season launch! 🙌 #WeAreWilliams
— Williams Racing (@WilliamsRacing) February 6, 2023
On the other hand, James Bower, the Williams commercial director said “We are launching several new partners as we go into the season as well so I think we are in a more robust position than the team’s been in for several years.”
Gulf, Umbro, Duracell, and Zeiss along with many other firms are sponsoring the British Formula 1 team. It appears to be stable with new sponsors joining them for the 2023 season and fans would be excited to see how the rookie Logan Sargeant performs in the team.
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