This is the new livery that Williams will run in the upcoming 2026 Formula 1 world championship featuring a vibrant glossy blue and a new sponsor with Barclays.
The team announced that the British bank corporation would be its “official banking partner”, while Komatsu, a Japanese construction equipment manufacturer, has been sponsoring the outfit since the 2024 season.
“2026 is the next step on the path back towards the top for Atlassian Williams F1 Team as we enter a new era for the sport, and we are excited about the season ahead,” team principal James Vowles said.
“We have a great driver line-up, some fantastic new partners, an ever-growing fanbase and want to build on the success we tasted last year, but we are not naïve about the challenge ahead of us. Nobody quite knows what will happen at the first race but we are looking forward to finding out, and hope our fans will love cheering us on with this great new livery.”
The team’s journey “back towards the top” got off to a tricky start as Williams missed the Barcelona pre-season test, making its FW48 the only 2026 car yet to appear publicly – which remains the case as this is just a livery reveal.
The team owned up to “delays in the FW48 programme”, but Vowles subsequently insisted Williams “could have made it to Barcelona”, though he admitted this would have put the outfit on the back foot in terms of spare parts.
The team missed out in running an early shakedown test at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona due to manufacturing issues but will take part in the following Bahrain pre-season test in preparation for the new season.
Hopefully this new car will get decent laps at Bahrain after missing Barcelona. Despite the recent testing set back, the Mercedes power unit did run meaning it has recorded some solid reliability thanks to the other teams especially the main factory outfit.
“We have the power unit provided by Mercedes, the gearbox provided by Mercedes, so the learning that they’re going through this week in Barcelona will carry over into us, into Bahrain,” Vowles said last week.
“It’s not that I want to be resting on their hard work, but also it is worth stating that that is still an advantage for us that falls out of it, or a disadvantage that’s negated. I’m confident with six days in Bahrain, we will run through the programme that we need to and it’s why we’re on the VTT [Virtual Test Track] now.
“What I wanted to do is to make sure from the outset in Bahrain, we have a reliable car ready to go so that we’re not sitting there doing what a lot of individuals and teams are trying their best to do in Barcelona, but not leave the garage. We’ve got to be there ready to go.”
