(Motorsport) Williams Racing became the third team on the Formula 1 grid to reveal their 2023 car FW45 with an updated blue and red livery featuring many new sponsors. The most notable addition to the livery was the addition of Gulf Oil, whose partnership with McLaren ended in 2022. Williams have been one of the most successful Formula 1 teams of all time but have been at the back of the grid in recent years.
The Williams family sold the team to Dorilton Capital in 2020 and are now looking to climb the grid. Alex Albon will feature for the team once again and will partner rookie Logan Sargeant, who is the first American to feature in Formula 1 since 2016.
“This signifies the strength of our brand and commercial offerings as we continue our transformation. Gulf and Williams Racing share an illustrious motorsport heritage and, together, we are making history with this partnership” said Matthew Savage, Chairman of the Board at Williams.
The team will also feature a new team principal James Vowles who has previously featured as Mercedes’ strategy chief but was not present at the car launch as his role begins on February 20th. Williams’ FW45 will feature on the Silverstone circuit on Monday, February 13th before pre-season testing begins the next day.
Williams has such an illustrious history in Formula 1 that only Scuderia Ferrari and McLaren Racing have won more titles. However, the team has suffered in recent years, being rock bottom in four of the last five seasons.
The team scored 8 points last year and will look to improve their performances for the 2023 season after making some significant changes to the side pod and modifications to the front suspension layout and ‘major external aerodynamic surfaces’. The car will use Mercedes’ engine for the 2023 season and is expected to be more ‘aerodynamically efficient’ than last season’s FW44.
Speaking at the car launch, Alex Albon said “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. I’m looking forward to seeing what the FW45 can do.”
Logan Sargeant said “I’m really excited for the season to get started after what, for me, feels like a long winter! I’m super motivated and we’ve put a lot of hard work in. The car is looking amazing and it shows the huge effort the team has put in the off season, so I’m looking forward to getting started at Silverstone before heading out to Bahrain.”
Also read: Max Verstappen believes other drivers can stop his Formula 1 dominance in 2023
